Every Sunday, it was the same routine: I’d see Grandpa and Grandma coming to pick me up to go to the 9 a.m. Mass at Saint Thomas Church. I’d look forward to that moment all week long. Afterward, a little ritual: a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts and a trip to the grocery store with Grandma—pure bliss for a 7-year-old girl. Then over to my grandparents’ house for lunch: pan-roasted potatoes with sausages and eggs. Pocket games, bowling, a cardboard house, a house of cards, biking, marbles, or even a little dance to a good Steph Carse country song—the “Achy Breaky Dance”… all of that could brighten up my afternoon. My cousins would show up for a game of hide-and-seek—in short, endless play, with no adults around to interfere.
Where has all that gone today? Well, I know—no one goes to church anymore, let alone with their grandparents. Although I can’t believe there aren’t any exceptions… Where have those simple games gone? Now it’s “Mom, my tablet’s out of battery!” or “Oh no, Grandma, there’s no Wi-Fi—this is so boring,” “There’s nothing to do outside,” or even, “This is taking forever, it’s boring—there aren’t any fun games here.” What happened to those wonderful family weekends? The ones where, on Sunday at dinner, there were 15 of us sitting around the table: Grandpa, Grandma, my aunt, my uncle so-and-so, and the cousins, and so on.
It was still an exciting, “free” outing—and super social. I have nothing but good memories of it. Even if I wanted to recreate that with my kids, it’s not possible, because my mother-in-law is too old and my mom works—it’s 2017, after all.
For a kid, a routine during the week is practically a must, so why not have one on the weekend, too? Getting together, sharing, forgetting the hassles of the hellish week that just ended. It’s official—I want to be that kind of grandma. As for church, we’ll see—it can be replaced by a park or a favorite little restaurant. Then we can go to the grocery store (it’s still trendy) and wrap things up with my kids, their girlfriends, their boyfriends, and the grandkids—it’s totally doable. Hey!!! Dance with me to the Achy Breaky Dance—it’s not that complicated; it’s the dance that heals broken hearts! Okay, I’ll change the song, though.
- Karyne -