By now, everyone has heard the phrase “The New Norm” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is having to adjust their day to day lives around things like masks, social distancing, and staying home. With all the gloom and doom out there, what can we all look forward to that could brighten things up? Maybe we can go back in time and pick the brightest spot of our childhood week. Saturday morning!
Who recalls what their Saturday mornings were like? I bet you can even do an exact play by play scenario of them right now as you’re reading this. The sights, sounds, and smells are floating around in your head right now, aren’t they? For me, Saturdays meant an awesome breakfast and Saturday morning cartoons. Of course, my sister and I’s chores had to be done first, but we’ll get to that later in the article.
Breakfast on Saturday mornings was a treat. Normally breakfast was cereal, oatmeal, or Malt-o-Meal during the week. Nothing was wrong with that by any means, but on Saturdays, we feasted like kings and queens. This task of the royal treatment was placed on my dad’s shoulders and boy could he cook a breakfast! His specialty was super omelets, gravy, and toast! He’d turn on some “old” Christian music like The Greens or Gold City and away he went. Rarely did we see him do the cooking because we were doing our morning chores (again, I’ll get to that later), but we knew once the music hit that full bellies would soon follow.
Once my mom had set the table and dad had completed his masterpiece, we’d all sit down together at the table, say a prayer, and then let the forks fly. As my parents discussed what the day would hold, my sister and I would eagerly eat and wait to be excused from the table for the highlight of every kid’s Saturday morning…….CARTOONS! Once everyone was done we’d all crowd into the living room and on came good ol’ Looney Toons. We’d turn the top dial to U, the bottom dial to 40, and the show would begin. Our parents would join us and chuckle and laugh just as much as we did with every Wile E. Coyote fail and every Yosemite Sam growl at Bugs Bunny.
Now, on to the chores. Breakfast was free, but we had to earn our Looney Tunes. With beds made and rooms picked up, we’d head outside to tend to the animals. My sister usually got the eggs from the chickens while I fed and watered them. Then we would head over to the hog pen to slop and water them. Of course, we couldn’t forget to take care of our beloved dogs. Chores would change depending on what time of year it was on our little acre farm. Winter tacked on filling the wood box and emptying the stove ashes. All was worth it though for our hour of Looney Tunes.
It sounds quite simplistic, but it was a simpler time back then. You see, a family is supposed to do things together as a family. Sitting down at the table to eat and talk isn’t torcher, its family bonding. Back then, no one was too busy or doing their own thing. Sure, there will always be work to be done on most Saturdays, but we can always do it after Saturday morning cartoons and family time.
So during this “New Norm” trend, try taking a Saturday morning to repeat your childhood morning rituals with your family. Go ahead and cancel all plans for Saturday mornings. Put away everyone’s phones and technology for a couple of hours. Maybe dad can even do a kitchen takeover for breakfast and the family can sit at the table to eat. Then turn on some good ol’ cartoons for everyone to watch as a family for an hour or so. The “New Norm” Saturdays are boring and overrated. Make Saturday Mornings Great Again!!!
