My husband admitted that he could care less who won the Super Bowl this year. Still, he bought a supply of chips, veggies and dip, and soda.
“Why did you buy so many snacks?” I asked as I rearranged the refrigerator to make room for the buy-one-get-one-free containers of dip.
“For the Super Bowl.” Norm handed me a bag of baby carrots.
“But you said you weren’t rooting for either team this year.”
“I’m still going to watch the game.”
“Why?”
“It’s the Super Bowl.”
At church my friend Susan helped me solve the mystery. She had just wrapped up a discussion with her 15-year-old grandson about why a certain type of dip required “V cheese.” (“V cheese” apparently stands for Velveeta—I can’t decide if that’s a cute family code name for this pasteurized processed cheese-like substance, if I’m completely out of touch and “V cheese” is actually a common term, or if the idea of ingesting Velveeta grosses Susan out so much that she can’t even stand to say the word).
“So you guys are watching the Super Bowl today too?” I asked. I figured there could be no other reason behind the importance of dip details.
“Oh, of course,” Susan grinned. “Nobody cares who wins. It’s just an excuse to watch football and eat snacks.”
I should have known.
I’ll admit, later in the afternoon when I sank my hand into a bag of Doritos and cracked open a root beer, I felt rather thankful for the rare excuse to veg out and eat junk. Norm definitely deserved a time-out after finishing a paper and a test for his on-line class. My sons and I all battled a nasty flu bug last week. On top of that, 4-year-old Nathan had four shots on Friday. So we’d all earned a treat or two. It was a good day to kick back. I still can’t remember who won the game, and don’t really care. It was a relaxing Sunday afternoon and I’m glad we allowed ourselves to have it.
So I guess this year Super Bowl Sunday taught me something new. It wasn’t a lesson in teamwork, perseverance, or why football is so much more than grown men fighting over a ball. Instead it offered a reminder that in the busyness of life, sometimes we need a good excuse to sit down with family, friends, or both, break out the chips and soda, and relax. Who cares who is playing, who wins or loses, or who is performing the half-time show (was I hallucinating or was that Prince?). Sometimes it’s okay to enjoy an event for no other reason than “It’s the Super Bowl.” Spending an afternoon on the couch isn’t always a waste of valuable time. Sometimes it’s a chance to regroup together. It may involve eating all the wrong things, but isn’t that part of the fun?
Thank God for the opportunities that He provided this past weekend, for rest and relaxation, so you could start this week fresh, ready to face the craziness of life again.
Many blessings,
Jeanette
3 comments:
Isn't is great that it is on Sunday! For us at least. How often does an entire family, growing children included, sit together and remember to rest on the Sabbath? The whole family is together with friends and enjoying fellowship.
Sundays are so often filled with kids sports games, laundry, mowing the lawn. Once a year we remember to rest. Maybe it starts the rest of the year off as a reminder to relax on God's day.
You know that story reminds me of my family...although we are not really interested in the game, God gives football a chance to be with my family. God is a great God and he can use the littlest stuff in the world to bring a relationship together...chips, soda, and all!
Thanks for writing to me ladies!
Yes, it is great that Super Bowl lands on a Sunday--a day when we have already been given permission by God to relax. And when I think about it, the point isn't "Does this interest me?" It's "Am I enjoying who I'm with!"
Hugs,
Jeanette
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