Leave a Little Room for Sunday

Sunday sounds different before everyone else is awake.

There is the coffee maker in the kitchen, a car moving down an otherwise quiet street, the small business of finding your shoes without turning on every light in the house. For a little while, nobody needs an answer from you. The morning is yours.

Getting up early for a workout can be a good way to begin. A walk as the neighborhood comes to life. Some time on the treadmill with music in your ears. A few weights in the garage, followed by a shower and a clean shirt. Choose the movement that works for you, and give yourself enough time to enjoy finishing it. There is pleasure in coming back into the kitchen knowing you’ve already done something you wanted to do for yourself.

Then comes the part worth leaving time for: the people around the table.

Breakfast doesn’t have to be much. Eggs, toast, fruit, another cup of coffee. Someone standing at the counter telling a story while you try to get the timing right. If family lives nearby, perhaps there is time for a visit before everyone heads their separate ways. If they live farther away, a call can bring a little of their household into yours. You hear what the grandchildren are doing in the background. You ask about the week. You stay on the phone long enough to get past “We’re fine.”

For those heading to church, this is the stretch of morning before it’s time to gather things and leave. There may be familiar faces waiting, a song you know by heart, a message you’ll still be considering over lunch. Perhaps church happens at home, with a service on the television and coffee within reach. Others spend the morning differently. However Sunday takes shape, a little time to pause and consider the week can fit comfortably into it.

By late morning, there is still a day ahead.

This is where it helps to resist filling every available hour. At this stage of life, we know how quickly a free afternoon can become a list of chores. Some of those things need doing. But before handing over the rest of Sunday, ask the person beside you a simple question: “Would you like to go somewhere?”

It needn’t be far. Try the neighborhood you usually drive through, or the small town whose exit you’ve passed for years. Find a place where you can park and walk a little. An independent café makes a fine starting point. So does a bookstore, a garden, or a street with a few open shops and somewhere comfortable to sit.

Let lunch take its time. Ask what’s good. Order something you haven’t tried. If there’s a table outside and the weather is kind, settle in. There is a particular pleasure in having a conversation that doesn’t have to end because someone needs to get back to the office.

Afterward, follow whatever interests you. A record-store window might lead to an album you haven’t thought about in thirty years. A gallery might introduce you to an artist working a few miles from home. You might find nothing more remarkable than a good bench and a view, and decide to stay there awhile.

These little outings give us fresh things to talk about. Even after years together, there are stories a familiar song can bring out, opinions a painting can reveal, and places one of us has always wanted to see. There is still plenty to learn about each other. The same afternoon can be shared with a friend or enjoyed alone, with a book tucked under your arm and nobody else’s timetable to consider.

Eventually, home calls. There may be dinner to make and a few things to prepare for Monday. Put on some music while you do them. Share what you found. Perhaps you’ve brought back bread from a bakery or a name scribbled on a receipt for somewhere to try next time.

The journey to sixty and beyond is full of plans for the years ahead.

A Sunday like this gives us something to enjoy along the way: a morning that begins with care for ourselves, time for family, and a few hours spent looking around.

When evening comes, it feels good to have something to remember from the day.

Happy Sunday everyone…

Allen S. Robinson
Founder & Publisher | The Pacific44 Journal
The Journey to 60 and Beyond

LIVE WELL ◆ STAY CURIOUS ◆ KEEP MOVING