Sundays unplugged

No matter what we've done on any given weekend, I'm always tired by Sunday night. Often on Sunday mornings, with children scurrying about, I find myself fantasizing about sitting down and just zoning out with a book or crossword puzzle. So I decided to make it official (well, as official as anything is in this house) and declare Sunday evenings after the girls are in bed "Sundays unplugged."

That means, that whatever L and I do, the phone sometimes being an exception -- it's a cell phone, after all -- must be manual: reading the paper, reading a book, talking (gasp!), doing the Sunday crossword, playing a game, etc. No TV, no music, no computer.

And can I tell you? It is one of the best parts of my week! It's the ideal way to wrap up a busy weekend, and it's an oasis of calm. It gives us an excuse to settle down and not have people talking at us -- which we have plenty of, weekend or not -- and to just. Be.

The idea of crossword puzzles as relaxation is pretty new for us. Our parents took them up fairly recently, with the idea of keeping their minds limber as they age. Between collaborating with them on puzzles when we're all together and the movie "Wordplay," I think we got inspired.

Just writing this, I'm already looking forward to tonight. No more Sunday night blues about the work week beginning. Just chillin' with my old-fashioned books, papers and pencils! And hopefully doing well on the Sunday crossword.