As a kid, I reveled in routine. I also rebelled against it. Especially on Sundays.
After going along with whatever Mom wanted to do Monday through Saturday—and realizing how much I hated Sunday School—my Papa Don’t Preach/Personal Jesus father finally put his foot down about going to church and rechristened Sunday as “Family Fun Day.”
I celebrated by cutting my clip-on church ties into pieces.
Despite liking a few of the people, I hated church.
I “just say no” to groupthink and group worship.
My dad’s idea of “fun” was sleeping late, having a lumberjack breakfast, and reading the Sunday newspaper cover to cover. He didn’t care what anyone else was doing, but he would be getting up late, making breakfast, eating breakfast, doing the dishes, and reading.
My mom and I were welcome to join in on his brand of “fun,” but anyone or anything outside of our immediate family of three was not.
“Family Fun Day” was more about reading and relaxing than carnival rides or road trips. Sundays were a sacred time to stay in our pajamas and catch up on all our favorite things…or find some new favorite things. Reading, writing, art, and arithmetic were encouraged. As were bike rides, long walks, and even longer naps.
My dad preferred to read lying across the floor of our living room. I regularly fell asleep reading alongside him, using his belly as my pillow.
LOSING MY RELIGION
This Sunday tradition became a sacred ritual—a mix of quiet rebellion and routine that shaped who I am today. The joy of those days stayed with me even as the circle of life happened and my life became filled with adult boys, adult joys, and adult noise.
For years, I let personal and professional obligations replace peaceful moments of inspiration and reflection. I spent more time scrolling through feeds than flipping through pages. My calendar and to-do list became my Bibles, dictating my every move and leaving little room for the wonderful wanderings that filled my childhood.
And yet, a part of me always longed for the simplicity of those “Family Fun Days”.
Like so many of us, I also long for my dad and my mom.
RECLAIMING MY TIME
Recently, I’ve been making a conscious effort to reclaim more of my time. To prioritize reading, writing, and relaxing not as luxuries but as necessities.
It started with an article, then an essay, and ultimately a book. Before I knew it, I was devouring pages like I had as a kid, rediscovering the joy of getting lost in a story.
The writing followed naturally. At first, it was just jotting down thoughts, a few scattered lines in a notebook. But those lines grew into paragraphs, then pages. I started to see the value in creating space for my own voice, unfiltered and unhurried.
As for relaxing, I’m still working on that. Insomnia is a houseguest that won’t go away, won’t pay rent, and won’t let you rest…for long. But I have been getting more sleep lately, so yay for progress!
BALANCING ROUTINE + REBELLION
What I’ve come to realize is that the balance between routine and rebellion is where my creativity thrives. Routine gives me a solid foundation to build on. Rebellion—whether it’s cutting up clip-on ties or turning off my phone for a few hours—creates the space I need to dream, to explore, and to question.
Reclaiming my Sundays as “Fun Days”—even without my parents—has been an act of rebellion against the demands of the world. But it’s also a return to the routines that nurtured me and allowed me to grow into a man who values creativity and curiosity.
A RETURN TO LOVE
I’ve started to see reading, writing, and relaxing as acts of resistance in a world that’s always vying for our attention. They’re a way of saying no to the noise and yes to the messes that matter…to me anyway. And maybe, just maybe, they’re a way of bringing back a bit of that “Family Fun Day” to my life.
So here’s to routines and rebellions, to books and blank pages, to dreaming and doing. Here’s to finding our way back to the things that make us feel alive.
And here’s to the hope that, somewhere out there, a kid is cutting up their clip-on ties and skipping church to read, write, and relax. Life’s too short for clip-on ties.
Thanks for reading and subscribing!
Clint 🌈✌️
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1934 = The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, NYC.
1971 = Look Magazine includes Jack Baker and Michael McConnell as part of its cover article on “The American Family.” Baker and McConnell are the first same-sex couple in the US to be granted a marriage license.
1979 = The Dukes of Hazzard premieres on CBS.
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Absolutely love this glimpse of your childhood, Clint - curled up with Dad reading is a very special memory. Thanks for sharing! 💜
A nicely written memoire and I hope it gave you inner peace to think about your prose before you put it on paper. As a kid it was the usual church/Sunday School thing but something must have happened with my folks and religion and suddenly it wasn't a thing anymore. So religion was out and instead leisure was in. By then the austerity after WW11 was over, personal car ownership was viable again and most Sundays were car trips to the coast either in convoys of relatives or solo car trips. Where I grew up it was equidistant from the East, West coast about 70 miles each direction (that probably sounds incredible to most of you 🇺🇸with your geographical distances 😏) Anyway enough of my prattling on. Cheers DougT 🇫🇴