The Busy Woman's Guide to Sundays

My grandmother was a minister. She didn't believe in doing anything on Sunday EXCEPT going to church and eating a big family dinner.

When I say, "anything" I mean it. If you attempted to get up and iron your church dress it was met with a stern, "You should have done that last night." I.E. You're heading to church wrinkled and busted!

Sunday, according to my grandmother, was the Lord's day. It wasn't meant for chores, including ironing, errands or anything else not associated with worship or quality time with the fam.

Also, even God rested on the seventh day - if you're prone to follow religious interpretations. Even if you're not, people with busy lives understand the luxury of doing nothing now and then. And that was the underlying premise of my grandmother's strict Sunday ban on mindless wordly tasks.

Thanks to that upbringing, I'm old school. Despite slacking in my church attendance (sorry Grandma) I hate running errands on Sunday and refuse to do any chores. If they don't get done Monday through Saturday they ain't getting done in our household.

It doesn't mean I don't feel the occasional guilt if I spend a perfectly beautiful Sunday lounging. But I understand more than ever what my grandmother was preaching.

During the days of the Blue Laws, when stores were closed on Sunday, families couldn't run to do last minute shopping because nothing was open.

I miss those days.

I'm dead serious. I love shopping as much as the next person. But Sunday has blended into every other day of the week and it makes for a long, week of manic running around.

Okay, maybe that's just me.

There are plenty Sundays I can't avoid a little running around (grocery shopping mostly). But I absolutely crave the type of Sunday I had today:

- Slept in until 9 a.m. (A rarity even on the laziest Saturday).

- Lounged in my PJs ALL day. That's right, no shower, no comb to the dome, just a quick dental cleansing and face wash. Ahhh...freedom.

- Got in two hours of writing (Okay, I know that's working. But I took yesterday off!)

- In between gabbing with the Princesses (i.e. breaking up their constant bickering) reading Douglas Preston's new book.

- Airing the house out by hiking up all the windows.

- Staring out said windows while Love, an incredibly mellow Destiny's Child joint, played in the background (and played and played. Princess A had it on repeat and I didn't object).

- Cooked dinner in stages. The roast one hour, the sides two hours later, the veggies 45 minutes later.

And finally, wondering why I don't spend more Sundays like this. I have no excuses. My grandmother taught me better!