Let Me Count the Ways

Oh Friday morning. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

One way I love thee is I remember well when I had no time for play. Years back, I was working a physical job, raising a family, pastoring a church, and going to school. I did that for years, for over a decade. I didn't hunt, didn't fish, didn't watch TV and didn't know what was going on in the popular culture, football, anything. All work and no play made Johnny a very dull boy, a very tired one, of one who yearned for rest and recreation. 

Another way I love thee is I have choices. With my wife at work, I chose what I will do today. I chose this morning not to go to the pastors' breakfast. I wanted the extra rest and some time with CC. She is very sensitive to changes in my schedule. I went to an out of town funeral this week which took hang-out time from her. She notices those things and becomes needy. At this very moment she is curled up at my side and purring loud like a runaway engine. She wanted on my lap, but the lap top is there. Sorry, Sweetie.

I do have an itinerary, a list, written on a index card. It reads:

  study
  blog
  cleaners
  swim
  recycle
  Plate City
  mow
  lift

I know there is a lack of parallel structure in that list, but it is for my eyes only. Now that I have made it for yours also, don't judge me.

A third way I love thee is the feeling of freedom I get when I wake up on Friday morning. I love that. It reminds me of my boyhood, of the exhilaration of having time to play. I often think of the time Mom dropped me off at Rob White's house. I was in the first grade. She said, "I'll be back in an hour." An hour!! I was free. The later years of my adulthood have been spent chasing that all too elusive feeling of being free. I can only have it in short spots. And that feeling is one of the reasons I pursue endurance sports, journey runs, long bicycle rides, all-day swims. It is there that I recapture the feeling that I am totally free, even if for only a mere few hours.

A fourth way I love thee is the fact that nobody understands. I tried to tell my students the other day, Thursday in fact. From the look on their faces, they didn't get it. There is a lot they don't get. They don't understand loss, freedom, or struggle. I know I am generalizing, but I am generally correct. Being the only one who gets it makes it even more special.

There are more ways I love thee, but I just realized that I started blogging before studying. I know what you are thinking. If you are a slave to the list, the index card, you are not free. I chose to follow the list. I need to study. I need to do those other things. I want to swim, to lift. Maybe I will strike out on a mini road trip. I often do that on Fridays. Sometimes I will drive to Noxapater and visit my aunt Mary. She is my only surviving aunt now that Doris Hodge has left us.

The coffee is good. I will drink a lot. I will watch YouTube videos. I will scroll through social media. I will enjoy my day. Thank you, Jesus. You gave me these Fridays, and I have cherished every one of them.