Remember when . . .

Saturdays were just the best days ever? When you were a kid, they stretched out before you with endless possibilities.
You could sleep in, though you seldom did because you didn't want to miss one moment of your day of freedom.
You could play for hours with no bells telling you it was time for reading or science, or worse, MATH!
It was a day when you were home with the grown-ups, interacting with them in ways that you seldom could on a weekday. Or, you went on a special outing -- a shopping trip, a visit, a ceremony.
When we grow up, the weekend can seem to be just another kind of work day -- house work, laundry, yard care all needing to be done. Special projects or chores or "honey-do" lists pop up and we find ourselves working just as hard, if not harder, on our one free day.
I was watching my boys play outside with one of their friends today. They were running and jumping and hiding, up to some backyard espionage, giving no thought to the dirty dishes and peaks of laundry and bills to be paid, or even what they would eat later.
They were laughing, those eyes-closed-face-tilted-to-the-sky laughs. Their voices rang out.
I miss those seemingly endless childhood Saturdays, but I get to remember them, get to feel them in my gut again as I watch my sons at play out my window.
Joe and I tried to get through a game of Yahtzee (did I get that right, Patty?) with them, but they were distracted and antsy, and I knew. Time to get out of the house.
Because they have been doing exceptionally well on their chore and responsibility charts, Mom and I took them to the arcade this afternoon (Isaac has been getting good spelling grades and pulling math up too).
We took a ride to show their friend our new house and let them run the yard once for practice, to see how it will feel.
We tried to go to the art supply store, but it was closed by the time we got there.
This evening, they had the opportunity to go to an International Food Fair at the auditorium with their friend's family. They were thrilled!
When they got home, there were lots of stories about what the shows were like, what they ate and how it tasted and who they saw there. "I'm so glad I went, mom. I had a really good time," Isaac sighed as he plopped down next to Daniel and I on the couch.
Josiah told his dad that his brother and he had "fried bee-anas" (bananas). Cute.
By the time baths and showers were had, and family devotions were read (Psalm 147, which is so excellent), they fell into their beds exhausted from a good, hard day of playing.
They were asleep within two minutes.
We spring ahead tonight, and I sit here, blogging.
From where I am, I can hear the steady breathing of all three of my sons, a symphony of the most precious kind to me.
Soon, I will join them, add my shallow breathing to theirs (and probably trumpet out a few snores too. I am quite tired).
A blanket of peace covers the house for the night.
This Saturday has ended.