Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon     

I remember (especially) when I was in college how much I disliked Sunday evenings. The fun of the weekend was past and it was time to get serious.  That continued into work life and I sometimes felt like a real stick-in-the-mud for having a negative attitude about work. Once I left my day job, that all changed. Today, I love every aspect of Sunday.

Today was special because it was Tru’s birthday and as is custom he stayed with us for the afternoon after the family joined us for lunch. But let me back up a few hours.

This morning the British Open was on TV when we got up and we got locked into watching that with Tiger Wood showing his incredible skills on hole after hole.  I am not sure that I would be so enamored with golf had it not been for living for four years at Rolling Meadows.  The emotion that he showed after he won the first major after his dad died was so human. Whew…

But let me back up again. I enjoy reading the Sunday Oregonian. It is like a lesson on the area and the world each week it comes.

We are really enjoying our new church, as well.  Our pastor was back from two weeks away and she is really easy to listen to.  She led a group of local church folks to her native Scotland on a mission trip to an inner city church where she had served when she was just starting out 30 years ago. But more than Jane, the (real live) pipe organ, the selection of hymns (both traditional and praise) the use of other instruments (piano, bass, and two acoustic guitars) adds to the worship. Today the fellowship hour consisted of a taco lunch, which kicks off their Bible School theme. We stayed for 15 minutes, which gave us a chance to visit with some of our new church family.

Then came The Lunch. This tradition started when we came here in February and has continued ever since, except for the month of April when we were in Michigan. It is a chance to eat and fellowship with the kids and their parents.  Tru goes through the ritual of asking his mom and then his grammy if he can stay.  The answer has always been the same…yes.  He and Grammy bond; I catch a nap and then we do something together. Asher goes home for a nap which gives mom and dad some space for that 1-2 hours.

But Sunday also means telephone calls to family and/or friends to catch up on what is going on. Staying in touch is a must when you are 2500 miles away. Usually, Sunday evening has some TV event that we enjoy, or sometimes it is church again.  August brings the preseason to the NFL and I am anxious to take advantage of the three hour time difference to get saturated in football from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Yes, that will be bliss.