Sunday bookends

A new school year has begun and I feel a tad lucky to be on a school calendar not because of summer break (although I do love that, too! along with all of the other breaks!), but because I feel like I get two shots each year at new year's resolutions. One in January 1 along with the masses around the globe who adopt a routine, change a pattern, give up something, etc... as the new year begins. And my second chance is in August when the new school year begins. This year's new (school) year's resolution? (Aside from getting more sleep which I do need to recommit to every year, week, day?!) To have a Sunday routine that goes something like: (optional run/walk/swim), CHURCH, groceries/errands/time with friends/down time/laundry/cleaning/work, YOGA, fix dinner, get ready for the next day, unwind before I go to bed. What's missing from this routine? Work after yoga is what's missing. And even though it's been only one day, I'm really not missing it! I had avoided the 5:30-6:30 yoga class on Sundays because I thought it meant that I would just stay up later since I wouldn't really be starting my evening work until 7 or so. Until I realized that maybe I didn't have to work on Sunday nights! Novel idea. Maybe if I worked earlier in the day or on Saturday then I really could have Sunday night to go to yoga, enjoy fixing a meal (with some favorite tunes or a podcast playing), and then read a book/magazine, call a family member/friend, update my blog, go to bed early?! The possibilities are nearly endless. And I like that.
I also like that my body (if I exercise) and my brain get sparked early in the day with something active followed by church...and that I end the day in a similar way with yoga. I'm loving our interim pastor at Covenant. Today's sermon was all about unburdening ourselves, mostly in the form of forgiveness. He was talking to the congregation at large as we move from one pastor to another but really he was talking to each of us in our lives. If we're honest, we all have people to forgive in our lives...in order to a live a more complete life with them. And in a funny way, yoga had a similar theme. Dean's main messages to us were along the lines of letting life be easier. He reminded us that we can choose to struggle or we can choose for it to be easy. (Not easy in the way of trouble-free but easy in the way of living into our life and not fighting against us.) He encouraged us to take deep breaths and breathe in the fullness of ourselves. I almost giggled out loud imagining that I was breathing in ETG. (I was also laughing inside because Rebecca and I had just been talking about this notion of being our full selves!) And then at one point with our arms reached to the heavens he said, "Now drop your shoulders. You know the world is very heavy if you think you have to hold it up. Why don't you consider letting it support you?" Ummm...good point, Dean. He actually had many good points...I can't remember all of them right now but I was overcome (again) with the sense that this was a good way to round out my weekend. The second half of a pair of bookends that started with church and had all sorts of good stuff in between. Hopefully I can keep things this neat and tidy and contained even when school is really intense. I know I won't be able to each weekend...and I'm going to let life intervene as it will...I want to be flexible that way. But in general, if I can keep my Sunday bookends in place, I think it will be a good thing. So far, I'm averaging 100% success!