Saturday

When I was a child, the very mention of the word 'Saturday' was like a carnival ride or a trip to another reality.

Bestowing a trip to Courthouse Square and a stop at the soda fountain, Saturday meant that we could go out on an adventure with Daddy to do new things and meet new people.

As an adult, my Saturday has a slightly different meaning. Generally meant to be a day filled with catch-up work, forgotten laundry and the household chores that require more than just a few moments of time.

The lyrics to the Primary song about Saturday being a 'special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday' float through my thoughts.

Sometimes, it does feel like we are getting ready for Sunday and sometimes it feels more like brute survival of the week.

This time of year, Saturday adds the dimension of also being college football day. With good planning, I can catch the action beginning about 11 am and work my way through my chores with the drone of the various ballgames in the background for virtually the entire day.

Sadly, my beloved Tide are off today. Perhaps that is a fortunate thing, though. They need to 'tighten up' in preparation for the last half of their season.

Then, we add the time spent reading through the lessons that will be presented in Sunday School and the auxilliary meetings we each have. Mostly, that happens after dinnertime, since that can be a quiet time, depending upon activity for the day.

But Saturday just doesn't have the ice cream, soda pop and cheese crackers flavor of childhood anymore.

Sure, I can go to the drug store and sit at the soda fountain and order all of those things again. But the appeal isn't quite the same. The reality of this is that the memory of those days isn't so much the menu but the time and season of my life to that point.

Daddy would hold our tiny hands in his large hands gently and help us up to our counter stools while we placed our orders. We talked about everything and anything. We spent the time getting to know each other in the tender talk of family.

Now, our time together with Daddy is generally over dinners. I have him join us as often as his schedule allows. It's nice just to sit and enjoy the company.

Saturday is a special day.

It has a meaning that transcends a single memory or a moment in time.

It is a day to be family.