Saturdays in our family are considered to be priceless and sacred, for quality together-time.
This is non-negotiable in our household.
We do not volunteer our time for various church or community events which are held on Saturdays, and Jay does not accept invitations to perform funeral services through the Hospice Center on those days either. Saturdays are strictly for Family Time.
Now let me explain that there are times when we do participate in various ministry projects together as a family on Saturdays. Sometimes, we like to go to nursing homes and visit with some of the patients there (elderly people get so lonely in those places, and seeing the children brings such a sparkle in their eyes, and joy to their hearts). And, if Jay was asked to perform the funeral ceremony for one of his patients that was especially dear to him, we would all go with him to provide comfort to the grieving family members.
But these events are always done together. Not separated into different areas. Not forced to have one child in the nursery, the others in the children's area, and both adults split up doing this, that, or the other thing. There is a certain time and place for that. We all-too-often find ourselves caught up during the week, over-exerting ourselves and being pulled in a million directions; caught between work, or church, or homeschool stuff, etc. But no, no. Not on Saturdays. Saturdays are reserved for us.
So, two Saturdays ago, we got in the van and headed down the road. We needed this particular Family Day, because Jay and I had just come home from a long and exhausting trip across the country without the kids, and had spent the entire week agonizing over a major decision. We had finally made up our minds about it and, feeling relieved and confident about our decision, decided to spend the day doing something fun with the kids.
We went to a restaurant for lunch we had never eaten at before -- one of those "Mom and Pop" places. We had just taken our seats and began eating, when a woman came over to our table. She had noticed that we had small children, and told us that she had tickets for an event in Tampa that evening, and wondered if we wanted them. For FREE. Now, perhaps we have been burned a few too many times in the past. We tend to be suspicious of things that appear to be "free". But, this woman asked us to wait where we were for a few minutes (which was not a problem, since we had just begun to eat), and she called her friend on the telephone to get the tickets from her home, and bring them to the restaurant.
Just as we were finishing up with our meal, the woman came back to our table, with her friend and the tickets in tow. She gave them to us, and told us very sweetly that she hoped we would be able to enjoy them. And then she left. No tricks. No hassles. Just, four tickets. The tickets were for "The Wiggles - Live on Stage". Something we probably wouldn't have bought tickets to see any other time (mostly because they are so expensive). But for FREE... we are willing to endure just about anything. :o)
So we accepted the woman's FREE tickets (which would have cost $40 each). But since there were only 4 of them, and 5 of us, we were going to have to purchase one more ticket. No problem. Seeing a show for only $40, that would have cost us $200, was something we were more than willing to do. So, we drove d0wn to Tampa early to see if we could buy one more ticket that would be next to the seats of our other tickets.
Jay dropped me off at the front, so I could run over to the ticket counter. When I got there, I was the only person in line, which surprised me. I began to wonder if the tickets were indeed legitimate. Once I showed them to the person at the counter, who by the way, was extremely nice, told me they were, in fact, real tickets, and happily obliged our request for five seats together, and even found some that were a little closer than the ones our tickets had been for.... at no extra charge. And I was able to get another ticket for little H as well. For FREE. So, another person blessed us with a free ticket to the show! 5 tickets to see "The Wiggles"... for FREE! Wow!
Yes, it was The Wiggles. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was cheesey. Yes, it was repetitive. Yes, it was a little annoying. But seeing the look on our children's faces as they clapped, and squealed, and sang, and danced, and "wiggled", and had the best time of their young lives... was absolutely priceless, and worth any annoyance. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
What a blessing to be able to experience it all for FREE! What an amazing experience!
And what an amazing way to spend our precious Family Day. :o)
This is non-negotiable in our household.
We do not volunteer our time for various church or community events which are held on Saturdays, and Jay does not accept invitations to perform funeral services through the Hospice Center on those days either. Saturdays are strictly for Family Time.
Now let me explain that there are times when we do participate in various ministry projects together as a family on Saturdays. Sometimes, we like to go to nursing homes and visit with some of the patients there (elderly people get so lonely in those places, and seeing the children brings such a sparkle in their eyes, and joy to their hearts). And, if Jay was asked to perform the funeral ceremony for one of his patients that was especially dear to him, we would all go with him to provide comfort to the grieving family members.
But these events are always done together. Not separated into different areas. Not forced to have one child in the nursery, the others in the children's area, and both adults split up doing this, that, or the other thing. There is a certain time and place for that. We all-too-often find ourselves caught up during the week, over-exerting ourselves and being pulled in a million directions; caught between work, or church, or homeschool stuff, etc. But no, no. Not on Saturdays. Saturdays are reserved for us.
So, two Saturdays ago, we got in the van and headed down the road. We needed this particular Family Day, because Jay and I had just come home from a long and exhausting trip across the country without the kids, and had spent the entire week agonizing over a major decision. We had finally made up our minds about it and, feeling relieved and confident about our decision, decided to spend the day doing something fun with the kids.
We went to a restaurant for lunch we had never eaten at before -- one of those "Mom and Pop" places. We had just taken our seats and began eating, when a woman came over to our table. She had noticed that we had small children, and told us that she had tickets for an event in Tampa that evening, and wondered if we wanted them. For FREE. Now, perhaps we have been burned a few too many times in the past. We tend to be suspicious of things that appear to be "free". But, this woman asked us to wait where we were for a few minutes (which was not a problem, since we had just begun to eat), and she called her friend on the telephone to get the tickets from her home, and bring them to the restaurant.
Just as we were finishing up with our meal, the woman came back to our table, with her friend and the tickets in tow. She gave them to us, and told us very sweetly that she hoped we would be able to enjoy them. And then she left. No tricks. No hassles. Just, four tickets. The tickets were for "The Wiggles - Live on Stage". Something we probably wouldn't have bought tickets to see any other time (mostly because they are so expensive). But for FREE... we are willing to endure just about anything. :o)
So we accepted the woman's FREE tickets (which would have cost $40 each). But since there were only 4 of them, and 5 of us, we were going to have to purchase one more ticket. No problem. Seeing a show for only $40, that would have cost us $200, was something we were more than willing to do. So, we drove d0wn to Tampa early to see if we could buy one more ticket that would be next to the seats of our other tickets.
Jay dropped me off at the front, so I could run over to the ticket counter. When I got there, I was the only person in line, which surprised me. I began to wonder if the tickets were indeed legitimate. Once I showed them to the person at the counter, who by the way, was extremely nice, told me they were, in fact, real tickets, and happily obliged our request for five seats together, and even found some that were a little closer than the ones our tickets had been for.... at no extra charge. And I was able to get another ticket for little H as well. For FREE. So, another person blessed us with a free ticket to the show! 5 tickets to see "The Wiggles"... for FREE! Wow!
Yes, it was The Wiggles. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was cheesey. Yes, it was repetitive. Yes, it was a little annoying. But seeing the look on our children's faces as they clapped, and squealed, and sang, and danced, and "wiggled", and had the best time of their young lives... was absolutely priceless, and worth any annoyance. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
What a blessing to be able to experience it all for FREE! What an amazing experience!
And what an amazing way to spend our precious Family Day. :o)
3 comments:
I'm glad you all got to go. Jay would have happily opted to sit out so I could endure, er, enjoy the Wiggles. The little ones would dig it though.
Awww. I bet Jay, uh, I mean the kids really really enjoyed the wiggles:)
Jay
how awesome!!! somethings are worth the pain...i might have to pop in a drug store and get some earplugs..but worth it to see the looks on the kids faces.hahaha
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