It is 9:30 pm and as hard as I try, I can not stop the inevitable, the thing that strikes fear into the hearts of hard working people like you and me. Yes, I am talking about (cue jaws music)... Monday.
As bad as Mondays can be, perhaps they are the reason why I so enjoy Sundays. Unlike it's busier weekend counterpart, the beloved Saturday, Sundays are usually more low key. Today, a typical Sunday with the Weinsteins. Sleep late, read the paper, check facebook (mandatory!) run errands, watch the Phillies (they won!) have dinner, and then, the best part, watch TV. Ok, I know what you are thinking now. Those Weinsteins have got to be the most boring family this side of the Mississippi. Well, perhaps, but I'll tell you why TV watching on a Sunday night is so special to me. It's a few hours of family togetherness that I wish I could bottle up and hold onto forever. Melissa pulls away from texting and facebooking, Bob turns off his baseball or hockey game (depending on the time of year), and together we have TV family time. Sometimes it's America's Funniest Videos, but lately it's been food related, "Cake Boss" or "DC Cupcakes"!
Melissa comes in and snuggles up beween Bob and me, wrapped in a blanket, her head propped on her dad's sturdy shoulder, and her feet nestled comfortably in my lap. (no matter that her dad and I endure some discomfort to accommodate her) He pokes and prods and tickles her, she laughs and screams and smacks him. I stifle my giggles, torn between amusement at their antics, and a desire to actually want to hear what the folks on the TV are saying.
This summer, as Melissa officially evolved into a teenager, me, her pathetic mother, has refused to accept this reality. In September, when she boards the bus for middle school, I know that my mind will will go back in time to the day she boarded the bus for first grade. Back then, her excitement and anticipation wiped away my fear of letting her go. Fast forward six years, and, once again, I must resolve to accept the inevitable, that my daughter has turned 13, that the elementary school years are forever behind her, that the new adventures of a teen await and that, yes, I must again try to let her go.
Yet, on Sunday nights, Melissa puts thoughts of friends and facebook aside, and joins us for a few hours where I am reminded that although the teen years may pull her steadily away, at least, on Sunday nights, there will always be that special place for her on the sofa, and she'll always come back!
