Rituals

One of the rituals that developed the year before our youngest left for college was weekend breakfast in bed. Back then it was hit and miss, but gave us a taste of how wonderful some rituals can be. So, when we moved into our lives as empty nesters it became a weekly ritual only to be interrupted by the occasional trip out of town or an event where we had to be out the door early. Otherwise, every weekend we start the day with breakfast in bed. One day I make breakfast and the other Greg makes breakfast (I like his day better cause he always makes waffles). Fresh brewed coffee, breakfast on a tray and the morning paper. The day starts off perfect. On these days you can count on having slept in a little, good food, coffee and lively discussions about the news.

So this morning since I woke up first I decided that I would make breakfast. There is something wonderful about rituals, after many times of repetition it is almost like a meditative practice. Grind the coffee beans, get the tray down, organize the cooking so everything will finish at the same time and the warm aroma will still be rising as you enter the bedroom....and last but not least go out the door, down the driveway to pick up the morning paper....

WHAT THE HECK....no paper...when you have a ritual and something disrupts it unexpectedly...well there is potential for the day to go to hell. So, I immediately get on the phone, track down someone at the Bulletin and request a paper...preferably before my coffee is cold.

Alas, 3 minutes had passed and no paper. So, I took breakfast upstairs and then brought the lap top up. What I can tell you is that reading the news on a laptop in bed with breakfast is not the same. Today I had another discovery...the printed word on paper, one in which you can fold and shake, is much more satisfying. Lucky for us before we finished, the paper arrived and our day was off to a good start.