Today I am thankful for Sunday traditions.

11.24.19

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Sundays were pretty darn predictable growing up in the Wiebel household. Sunday mornings were for church. After church we'd have lunch together as a family. And then, right after lunch my dad would declare, "I'm going to go take a proper Sunday afternoon nap." Sometimes he'd add, "I think I'll try it out just this once -- see how it goes,” and we’d all smile or chuckle at the predictability of it all.

Now, it's important to know that my dad is the hardest working person I know. And that’s saying something, because I know a lot of hard working people. I learned the true meaning of a 'Midwest work ethic' by watching him throughout my childhood. He worked so incredibly hard to provide for our family and I'm sure, to this day, that I only know about a fraction of the many, many sacrifices he made to make sure all our needs were met.

When they say you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy, they were clearly talking about my dad. Growing up, I saw him approach every single thing that he did with 110% commitment and determination. He kept everything in our house in proper working condition. Our yard was always beautifully kept and landscaped – even if it meant my dad single-handedly laying several tons of lannon stone to terrace our front yard and driveway. And you should see what my dad can do with a bucket of sudsy water and a sponge – I would dare anyone to find a cleaner car in a 200 mile radius. Seriously, even a professional car washer/detailer couldn’t hold a squeegee to a car cleaned by Jerry Wiebel.

Even now in his retirement, although his commitments have changed, my dad still gives his all to all he does. It’s pretty darn inspiring.

But I digress.

I say all of that, not just to brag on my dad (although I do love a good opportunity to tell the world how great he is) but because I’m not sure anyone in the whole state of Iowa deserved a proper Sunday afternoon more than my dad.

Now, aside from his work ethic, another lesson that my dad really modeled for me growing up, was that Sundays were meant for church, for family and for rest. And while my dad might have taken a little snooze at other points in the week, non-Sunday naps were always preceded with the words, “Honey, can you wake me up at ______?” But not on Sundays. Sunday afternoons were for proper naps, which meant that my hard working father would take a real nap, with no alarm, in his recliner, complete with a football game in the background.

The other Sunday tradition that you could set your watch by in the Wiebel household was Sunday night popcorn dinner. For as far back as I can remember, Sunday night has always been popcorn night. We would make a big batch of popcorn and we’d typically watch a movie or tv show together as a family. As my sister and I got older, Sunday nights often included finishing up book reports and studying for science tests as well, but the popcorn was always constant. There was always plenty of food in the fridge if you wanted to make yourself a sandwich or have some leftovers instead, but we all knew to expect popcorn for dinner come Sunday nights. I thought this was the coolest thing as a kid. And honestly, when I visit my folks now as an adult I still look forward to Sunday night popcorn.

I haven’t necessarily kept up all of these traditions as an adult. I definitely keep my Sunday mornings for church, but my day often takes a turn after that. Sundays afternoons and evenings are often filled with errands, friends, lesson planning, or a myriad of other things. Sometimes I’ll squeeze a little nap in there, but I’m sure that when I do, I haven’t earned it in quite the same way my dad does.

But today I ended up with some cancelled plans (darn cough and cold), so I took myself a proper Sunday afternoon nap – tv in the background and no alarm to wake me up. It was wonderful. And I woke up just in time for popcorn.

I had the best kind of childhood a girl could want and I’m so very thankful for all of it. And today, as an adult, I’m thankful to have slowed down enough to have had a Wiebel-style Sunday complete with church, a nap, and popcorn for dinner.