How to Never to Dread Sunday Again

I used to dread Sundays. I would feel a ripple of emotion when lying down on Saturday night, a whisper of remorse in my head, reminding me that my weekend was already half over. 

Oh no, I would think to myself, anxiety on tap. Tomorrow’s Sunday. 

The rest of Sunday I would mope about, counting down the hours until the dreaded Monday morning. I look back on this period of my life and SHAKE MY HEAD. How silly! And what a crappy attitude? Why waste good emotion on something so backward? Sunday is the BEST DAY. It was created that way for us. 

You see, there was a time in my life that every moment wasn’t good enough. I was constantly flipping through time in my mind, settling on something near term that would surely bring bad things. The result? Not a happy camper. I was so disconnected from my life’s work that my mind took over. Something had to change. 

What simple fix did I adopt? I recognized and honored the Sabbath.  For those of the “non-churchy” variety, the cliffs notes read as follows: 

Like all things religion, there is soooo much discussion on what constitutes keeping the Sabbath holy. I’m not interested in that. I’m all about following God’s plan for YOU. What does keeping the Sabbath holy mean to you? This is what it means to me. 

Oh my, do I enjoy this. I forget how frenetic I feel about the wash, load, fold repeat cycle until I have a day where it’s entirely off limits. This requires planning. If school items are required on Monday, my fanny has those in the laundry by Saturday night. I also shifted my cleaning routine to Saturday morning (I know). There is nothing more blissful than waking up on a Sunday morning to a sparkling (ish) clean house. This lasts until about 9:35am, but who’s really keeping track me.

I found this easier in practice than in theory. I really assumed it would be hard for me to stay out of stores on Sunday, one of the few days “off” I have at my disposal. I find it forces essentialism in the best of ways. If errands are REALLY important, you do them on Saturday. Whatever remains either you didn’t need or can happen next week. A silver lining on this one, you tend to spend less money. 

Obviously, we EAT on the Sabbath, but I dial it down. Way down. In the process, I’ve noticed something interesting. My family randomly enjoys a day where there isn’t a home cooked meal on the table. Le hubs can have something indulgent, and le bae contents herself with leftovers. Recognize that there are those days you just want a gigantic bowl of popcorn for dinner (guilty). Less cooking also means less cleanup. Meaning mom is feeling relaxed at restored at the start of the week. My friends, we call this God’s great design. 

So far we’ve focused on what I lose on the Sabbath, let’s flip the script. What do I gain?

Seriously how much time is spent doing nonsense housework and flitting about buying stuff? Apparently, lots because there are more hours in Sunday than I can seem to fill. This use to feel overwhelming, but now I schedule time to see friends, make time for church, and enjoy a day of unstructured family togetherness. 

It sounds scary, but jump into the abyss with me. You don’t have to have time slots for every waking moment. It’s the destination, not so much the journey; the walk you take and the funny show on TV you discover. Given all the room to do as we please, we are also more spontaneous. A key feature of a happy, blissful life, no?

I really try to connect with God during the Sabbath. I’ll use a weekly devotional, or go deeper with spiritual practices that really test my knowledge of self. If you aren’t there yet, just try lighting a candle right when you wake up and expressing what’s on your mind to the universe. Or journal, write poetry, create! The purpose is a connection with the love that binds us together, expressing yourself with a generous spirit.

Suffice to say, this is the reason Sunday is my favorite FAVORITE day of the week. Mondays? That’s another story.