Sunday – Rest?

Sundays used to be a day of rest. What happened to that concept?

I’ve lost it. I value doing nothing, but I’m not good at it.

At the party I was at this weekend, I heard other women talking about not finding time to go to church on Sunday, because their lives have taken over and their kids have sports events on Sundays. They can’t do it all.  Yes, there is guilt involved and I wonder what we are going to do to change this.

It’s true. I understand.  And I don’t yet have an answer today.

We like going to church, yet we don’t go that often either. Not because we don’t want to; it’s just that we seem to be constantly on the go. And the days, we’re not on the go, we need to rest and sleep in and do nothing.

So it’s 10:00 pm and I’m finally sitting down to rest.  It’s been a long and exciting day and I’m not complaining. I think the time change stretched out the day too and our schedule is really off. It’s ok. This too shall pass.

This morning I left the beach party bright and early so that I could get back to my family. I wanted to spend the day together with them and to share experiences with our Japanese “daughter.”

I love having her here. She is such a delight and is warm and kind and friendly and engaging.

She speaks a few words of English and understands many phrases that we share. We all try to understand one another and all seem to be enjoying each other’s company.  She continuously says, “I am happy.”  I am happy too. I am so happy to be sharing this experience with her and having the opportunity to share one slice of American life with her.

Today we took her to see Big Basin and the historical redwood trees. She was amazed by the size of the trees and enjoyed walking through the forest for a short while.

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From the Redwoods, we drove to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

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She was happy again and was excited to go on the Giant Dipper roller coaster with Juliana. She loved the thrill ride and was very excited.

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Charlie and I went on the Haunted Castle ride which was so cheesy and funny.  I loved sitting next to him and feeling him cover his eyes and ears, afraid of what was to come next, even though he knew as he had ridden the ride before.

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It was a gorgeous day at the Boardwalk and we were so lucky to have an out of town guest to share our beautiful world with today.

Life is good – even if it means I’m resting this late at night.

I hope you have a good week. Take care of your beautiful self. xoxo

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Day 5: Family Day at Santa Cruz Boardwalk

 

 

 

 

 

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Today Jeff’s company threw a great party for all the employees and their families at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. They had BBQ chicken and burgers and all the accompaniments, sodas, beer and wine, entertainment and free rides all day.  We really enjoyed meeting some of his co-workers and spending time together as a family, doing something new and different. We have been to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk several times, but have never ridden the rides.   We all went on many of the rides together and then split up to enjoy different things too, like the arcade games. It made me excited to go and explore Europe together as a family and discover new joys together.

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We couldn’t have asked for a better day. And to top it off, when we got home, my mama had made us her special sauce and dinner was magically ready!!  How nice is that?

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