Day is Done

By fire or candle, light was labor. You were sparing with it. There was no running down to the gas station for more propane or to the neighbors for candles...The light went OUT when the sun went down. And we let it.

After a day of hauling wood, cutting sod, feeding animals, and teaching kids how to do the same, the sun went down. Readings or recitations by firelight were entertainment and schooling. Singing was a release of the heart after a day of exercising your muscles...break time. If it was too dark to read, too dark to mend harness, we gathered together and told each other stories.

Families didn't have limitless supplies of acholol or drugs to 'relax' with. Forget TV. They found their own ways to unwind at the end of the day.

We are losing the art of family relaxation. We all need it; it's hardwired into almost everything on the planet. We need the dark. We need to rest.

Even out plants grow better when given dark time in their day. Too much light makes them spindly and thin. Our animals produce better when they are given "night" in their barns.

There is no prize for "Most Exausted Human".

There is a prize for families that relax together. That time of almost sleepy but still awake that we can share builds a bond that lasts. You don't have to do anything but be there and communicate with your family. Make it "Joke of the Day" and everyone tells one. Or just sit in the yard and stare at the consellations together.

Find a way to spend a few minutes each day glad that the night is come and day is done with your family. Even if it is the panacea of TV, snuggling down together to watch it makes the bonds between you stronger. It helps you all rest better knowing there are those who care who are with you each night.

Kick back and party, play cards, sing, tell stories - RELAX - but do it together.

"Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love ........."