This morning during children’s time at church, the speaker was asking the kids if they knew what day it was – besides Sunday. One of the children responded “a day of rest.” The answer that the speaker was looking for was World Communion Day. Now, before I lose all of you who are non-religious, let me just say we’re going to run with the day of rest idea.

Rest. We all need it. I spent 20 years working 3 jobs, going to school full time, sleeping 4 hours a day and yes, working 7 days a week. Burning the candle at both ends for so long was probably a contributing factor to my stroke which has forced me to slow down. I am now physically able to work only one 40 hour a week job and I average 9-10 hours of sleep per day.

Every once in a while, we need a day off. A day off needs to happen more often than “well, its a holiday and my work is closed, so I’m home.” We need to schedule regular days off to rest and recharge ourselves.

If you give and give without taking time to replenish yourself, not only will you crash and burn, but you will drag everyone around you down into the searing fireball you have become.

We all need a day of rest.

I thought about how my life and my Sundays have changed in the past 5 or 6 weeks I have moved into the house. In the apartment, the bunny ears on my TV set received 12 channels. I’m not huge on TV, but I enjoyed watching baseball Saturday nights and football every Sunday.

The bunny ears do not receive any channels in the house. That’s fine. I’m content with the DVD player. I am so busy with house things that I very rarely have the time to sit down and watch something anyways.

I remember moving into my house on a Thursday. That Sunday, a friend had come over to visit. As I sat with my friend on the front porch, I told them “you know, this is the first time I have sat down in 4 or 5 days.” My life has been that way ever since.

For more than a decade, Sunday was my day of rest. I called it family day. I would do my long run for running or marathon training, then the rest of the day was dedicated to spending time with the cats and being a vegetable on the couch watching football.

Now that my bunny ears do not have reception to see football, Sunday has turned into a house cleaning day. I have my cleaning divided into sections to make my life easier. On Saturdays, I typically clean upstairs and work on outside chores. On Sundays, I typically clean downstairs and do the bulk of my cooking and baking for the week (I freeze meals, remember).

Sunday is no longer a day of rest.

This week is a 3-day weekend. It’s Columbus Day, or as some people call it “Indigenous Americans” Day. Sometimes I think of it as “Guy in a boat got lost” day. I digress.

Here I was all excited about a 3-day weekend. What have my 3-day weekends looked like in the past? Beach days, football, reading, hiking, running. All fun things. I could typically clean my apartment in about an hour. Then I was off doing some fun thing or just lounging like a vegetable relaxing.

With that in mind, the prospect of a 3-day weekend was exciting. Has it been? Primarily no. I have been doing something house related every single day. Even though Saturday afternoon I did take a 2 hour timeout to have a bonfire in the yard, it was not relaxing. I look at my to-do list and am overwhelmed. I have so many things to do.

What happened to my 2 item to do list? I feel like I’m buried.

The good news is that I have not been driving on the weekends. I have made a conscious effort to park the car in the garage Friday nights and to not drive until work on Monday morning. So that means I am either at home or only go someplace within walking distance. I feel like since becoming a homeowner that I have not stopped or sat down.

Well, I have sat down, but usually for an hour or two respite, then I’m back up tinkering again.

I think it was helpful when I had TV channels on my bunny ears that sitting down and watching football on Sunday afternoons was a way that I forced myself to take a day of rest.

Now that my bunny ears do not have reception, I do not experience that day of rest I had.

There is a local radio station that airs NFL football games on the radio of a “local” team. It may be that this afternoon I have to sit and listen to football on the radio in the same manner I was planting myself to watch football on the TV.

It’s the only thing I can think of to force myself to slow down. Otherwise, I keep getting up and doing things.

So I’m going to try listening to football on radio today to observe the day of rest.

But first, I’m going to make a loaf of allergy-friendly banana bread.

How do you observe a day of rest?