It’s been an unusually relaxing weekend. By “unusually” I don’t mean that it’s been extra relaxing but that it’s been relaxing at all. Perhaps that’s why I am savouring it so much. It feels like a real weekend. You know, the kind normal people look forward to all week long. Last night we packed our house with good neighbours and good food and laughed until our sides hurt. Twelve adults and fifteen kids can make a lot of noise under one roof! (In case you’re wondering, that is NOT when I snapped the above picture!)
Today we had our usual for breakfast – homemade blueberry pancakes. Except this time I didn’t stay in the kitchen all morning baking bread for the week. You see, when I noticed I was out of brown sugar and couldn’t make my usual filling for my cinnamon rolls, I kinda let myself off the hook with the whole bread baking routine. I have to say it was almost therapeutic. I don’t know what we’ll have in place of our Sunday morning “usual” (those homemade cinnamon rolls I mentioned). But, hey, it’s good to break from routine once in awhile. I’m sure we’ll scrounge something together to break our fast in the morning!
Maybe another reason today felt extra special was that one cup of coffee. I have been off of coffee completely for a couple of weeks now and have not noticed any episodes of arrhythmia, something I had been dealing with constantly. I cut out the coffee just to see if it made any difference, and what d’ya know – it’s much improved…nonexistent actually. Since I only drank one cup per day anyway, I haven’t had any crazy withdrawal symptoms or been extra cranky and tired or anything. However, I really enjoy a hot drink to sip on throughout our homeschool mornings, and I have the most amazing Zojirushi thermos (that baby deserves a blog post all to itself) that keeps a hot drink piping for hours on end. So, in lieu of the coffee, I’ve been enjoying a herbal tea blend of ginger, peppermint, and fennel. Mmmmm! But I do still long for a creamy cup of coffee so I thought I’d try to just sneak a cup once per week. Saturday seemed like a good day to splurge, and as I poured my lone weekly cup today I figured it might as well be a good one (ie. with extra cream and extra maple syrup).
Long after the coffee, today continued to stand out as one of those leisurely days. PJ had been away a couple of days this week so it was extra special to have everybody together again. We played a Canadian geography board game with the older girls this morning (that they love) while the two littlest splashed and played in the tub. Belle had a friend over all afternoon to play (very special for her as this was her best buddy from her mornings at preschool last year). I took the two oldest girls with me to a fellow homeschool mom’s birthday party this afternoon.
As I reflect on exactly what it was about today that may have caused me to cherish and linger in all of these moments, one reason emerges above all the rest. Today we received word that a dear church member passed away. Just the thought of the heartache and loss this gentleman’s family is experiencing right now makes me appreciate the little blessings of a normal family day…being together, eating together, praying together, snuggling together, reading together, laughing together. We just never know what each day holds for us and our loved ones!
It hasn’t been a lazy weekend (at least not for the two-legged members of the family), but it has been restful. My circle of love has been widened by time spent with wonderful people. And the weekend isn’t over yet. I can’t wait to see what blessings are in store as we gather with our spiritual family tomorrow to worship and to share in one another’s sorrows and joys.
My Peace in the Puzzle 