New Rituals & Rhythms

My Sabbath Leave has been a truly refreshing break in a nearly 25 year pattern of living. Most mornings, my daily ritual is to take our English Cocker, Buddy, for an early walk over to Panera’s where we hang out together at an outdoor table for about an hour, he with his cup of water and I with my morning paper and cinnamon chip scone. Were it not for the fact that I might be kicked out of the restaurant, I’d love to bring my camera with me and capture some of the "regulars" I see when I go in to order – the stately looking man with his blue blazer, medical journals and copy of the NY Times; the older Asian woman who sits quietly by the window most mornings and sometimes brings her grandson; the scores of professionals with laptops who use Panera’s as their personal office for meetings, email, spreadsheets and interviews. It is a happening place and for now, I get to count myself among the nearly-every-morning crowd.

I think I underestimated how freeing this “no Sunday job” thing was going to be for Holly (and me, for that matter). We’ve been able to go to our beach house two weeks in a row – something we have never done before. Last weekend’s visit included taking in the Kite Festival (really fun), a 25 mile bike ride (tiring fun) and SunFest, billed as the number one crafts festival on the East Coast (sort of tacky). We’ve had the chance to reconnect with friends from our first church whom we haven’t seen in a long time. And we’ve had the luxury of having to decide how we will spend our Saturdays and Sundays together. After a quarter of a century of not really having weekends to ourselves, I think we could get used to this new rhythm! But fear not – I still miss you and we’re coming back in a month.