A New Saturday

Somehow, while living in Chicago, the lazy, no-agenda Saturday, often alluded us.


As a Pastor's family, we don't get the typical weekend with a Saturday and Sunday off. Sunday is a work day, leaving Saturday as "The catch up on the week day". At our former church, George was out at night 2-3 times a week for meetings, so Saturday became the only day during which to get important tasks done around the house and run errands. Add to that weekend church functions every so often and one is left without an empty day.

Our new Senior Pastor is not a fan of meetings. His belief is that he'd rather have you hanging out and doing life with members and neighbors rather than sitting in meetings.

We like his philosophy.

"Doing life" is what we did yesterday. Football was on all day. Chili was slow-cooking in the pot. Corn bread and dessert were being prepped for dinner (our amazing neighbor Martha was headed over with a Beef Stew adapted from Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon recipe.). There was freshly roasted coffee from my new favorite micro-roasterie over in New Brighton, Hallowed Grounds, and a very close friend was visiting from Chicago.

It was also freezing outside.

But inside, our house was warm (thanks to some ceramic heaters to supplement the lack of heat retention in our 100 year old house). And we were relaxed.

This whole idea of a lazy Saturday is just so foreign to us, that at times, George and I would ask each other, "Is there something we are supposed to be doing today?" The kids watched Saturday morning cartoons, I took Harper to tennis (where I met a Mom interested in taking tennis lessons with me), I ran a few miles, Zane drew robots, Harper continued reading chapters in her "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" series, and George and Myron watched ball.

Nothing HAD to be accomplished and we experienced down-time. Sweet, sweet down-time.

During down-time, I like to cook.

We'd had tacos on Friday night, but had failed to finish the taco meat. So, into the slow cooker it went, with broth, beans, green bell pepper and tomatoes that I diced and froze from a co-op order (that someone failed to pick-up, turning me into the blessed recipient of their already paid-for organic goodness), along with some left over roast beef (from a cow my neighbor purchased - only to run out of room in both her freezers), and herbs and spices.

Hodge-podge Chili masterpiece.

Then there was the apple and green tomato crisp, (I added the apples to the recipe), made with those same co-op blessings, and corn bread (made from scratch - who am I?), to go with the stew.

The evening was spent with our guest and our neighbor around the dinner table. Eating, talking, and worshipping together.

THIS is our new Saturday.

Refreshing.