Yesterday I read an article on taking a day of rest. This was by no means from an Orthodox, or even Christian viewpoint, but never the less it made me think. I have a very hard time resting. I always feel like there's SOMETHING that needs to be done, and Sunday is no exception. Sundays are busy. It's just a fact. After Liturgy, my family (including my parents, sister, and her family) always have lunch together. This usually takes awhile, since my Dad is our parish priest. He usually gets to lunch late, and by the time we get home it's around 2. My youngest then goes down for a nap, and I always feel like I need to USE that time. I usually grocery shop on Sunday afternoons, and the house always seems to be more of a mess from the hurried weekend activity. By the time all is said and done, it's 6pm, I need to make dinner, and then it's the usual evening chaos before bed. Then my Sunday has somehow disappeared! I also usually have a feeling of resentment towards my husband. He spends his Sunday afternoon lounging with the older two kids, and I always feel like I'm the only one contributing. I think I may have it backwards.
Today, I forced myself to rest. After my youngest went down, I just hung out. It's HARD! I see all the things around me that need to be done, and I still need to grocery shop. I guess I need to move the shopping to a different time, and either I have to do more on Saturday to keep the mess at bay, or just shut my eyes to it on Sunday.
Either way, I think taking time to rest is important, and I need to learn how to do it! Why is it so hard to do nothing? No one else around here seems to have any difficulty!
The "Orthodox Kids Journal Project"
4 months ago
1 comment:
I have to say, learning to just "hang out" is hard. My BIL used to make fun of me when we came in town to visit, because even when everyone else was just sitting around chatting, I was doing some hand sewing, addressing envelopes or whatever - he always asked me "are you even capable of doing nothing?" It has only been in the last year or so I have come to appreciate the pleasure of occasionally just "doing nothing." It is hard, especially for moms, since our job is always in our face, no way to "leave it at the office," but I agree, it is important to at times be able to just rest and do nothing. Sometimes there are things we cannot avoid, but for the most part, I love to just be able to go home on Sunday and do nothing (or maybe have some friends over and do nothing together :)
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