saturday mornings

(setting the scene: i'm listening to the 'Juno' soundtrack...amazing indie epicness)

so. i have my cup of coffee. 'Major Dickason's Blend'. it's pretty good, but the name makes it awesome. i know i might be letting the cat out of the bag here, but i will confess that occasionally (most all the time) i purchase items (coffee, wine, etc.) based on the name. or the label. yes i know. a haphazard and potentially foolish way to make culinary decisions. but i have to tell you. more often than not, i'm quite pleased. my three favorite wines were all purchased based on their cool names/labels.

so i've gotten off track. surprise surprise.

i woke up this morn around 8. early by some standards, late by others. but i venture that on any old saturday morning, 8 is on the early side of things. after all, we work all week, waking in those morning weekday hours. most people are looking forward to saturday just to have a break, a rest, a chance to 'sleep in'.

in fact, i think that we spend a great portion of our lives anticipating saturday.

it's funny, though, our sleep cycles in connection with saturdays. i have three memories of saturdays, including today. each a different time in life.

the first fond memory i have of the idea of 'saturday morning' was when i was a little kid. no more than 5 or 6. saturday morning represented autonomy, freedom, and relaxation. (actually, i think that's what it's always been about, just seen differently...) the parents would sleep in a bit more than usual. i would wake up early, though. 6am. head out to the living room. saturday morning cartoons awaited. a small plastic bowl of Kix or Crispix. a little dry cereal and some G.I.Joe and i was a happy camper. it was my time, before i fully understood how great that fact was.

second memory being that of a lazy teenager. seemed as though i could never get enough sleep. and saturday represented the one day where i could give myself fully over to that need. and quite literally sleep away the day. freedom was found in sleep and dreams and not having to go to school.

today, i remark, i have come full circle. in some ways, i guess. now, at almost 27, i cannot sleep for hours upon hours, like my teenage self. no, now, i get a headache if i sleep past 9am. but i don't usually get there on a saturday morning. now, it's up early cause there is much to always be done. stuff that seems to be impossible to accomplish during the week. now, i wake early to be productive. or at least attempt productivity.

we are always pushing toward saturday. we work for the chance to do what we want on saturday. we are always seeking that freedom.

and eventually, when i have a family. i will strive for saturday so that my son can have his autonomy, freedom and quietly eat his dry cereal.