Is Sunday the first day of the week, or is it the last day? I’ve always wondered, but it was just one of those things you’re puzzled about but make no move to confirm because, in the long run, it doesn’t matter. However, Sundays have always been one of my best days, right from time.
Back when I was a child, it was that day of the week when I knew I could spend time with my friends. More time than I could on any other day of the week. As a teenager, I was never one to go home immediately after mass. Nah, my friends and I would hang around the church premises doing nothing but talking. Once in a while we could buy snacks and eat, or better still, we could go to one of our houses and chill. And eat.
Typical mass closed sometime around 11 AM on Sundays, depending on the amount of activity that took place within it. But can you believe that, many times I got home around 5 PM? Yeah! That’s how crazy it was. One time, I came home after dark and my Mom was burning up my phone with calls. Her favorite quote to me then was “Everyone else goes home after mass, but not you! You’d rather sleep in the church.”
Lol! I wish… this was especially true when I was fresh out of secondary school so I didn’t have anything to rush to the next day. And as you know in most Nigerian families, Sunday is always a sort of mini celebration. There’s always something to be grateful for. And I never wanted to miss out on it for anything. I remember times when I would return home just to eat, and when my Mom wasn’t looking, I’d sneak out again!
Thankfully, I wasn’t really restricted when I came to going out like that. It was not hard to see a bunch of guys just walking around the street from one of our houses to the next. Now that I think of those days, I’d like to experience come of them again. Back then, my biggest problem was trying to explain to my Mom why I came home late from church. Everything was taken care of and life was easier.
And now, I spent a good chunk of 2021 and 2022 back there and although the church is still very much the same with zero changes, the atmosphere has changed totally. All the guys I used to hang with are no longer there. Growth and maturity have scattered everyone all over the place. No one has the time to walk around aimlessly anymore because we all have responsibilities and a role to play in the grand scheme of things.
Everyone is looking for money now, so much so that it’s affecting their church-going capabilities. The last time I was there, I no longer stayed back after mass. There was nothing to keep me, but I also feel that if my guys had been present, it still wouldn’t have made a difference. We might have stayed and chatted for a while, but it won’t be all that long because eventually, I would have to return home. We had our fun while it lasted, but one can easily see that all that is now in the past. We just have to focus on moving forward.
Nevertheless, Sundays are still my best days. It’s the one day in the entire week that I have less work to do, and I’m free to binge-watch a lot of the series I’m following. It’s also the day I can pay visits to friends without getting worried about the time, or deadlines. I do my best to enjoy my Sundays because I know very well what comes after. Mondays, which signals the resumption of my work.
All in all, it’s a routine I’ve come to like and I’ll be looking forward to what the future has in store for me. I’m pretty sure it’s something great!
