As a kid, I reveled in routine. I also rebelled against it. Especially on Sundays.
After going along with whatever Mom wanted to do Monday through Saturday—and realizing how much I hated Sunday School—my Papa Don’t Preach/Personal Jesus father finally put his foot down about going to church and rechristened Sunday as “Family Fun Day.”
I celebrated by cutting my clip-on church ties into pieces.
Despite liking a few of the people, I hated church.
I “just say no” to groupthink and group worship.
My dad’s idea of “fun” was sleeping late, having a lumberjack breakfast, and reading the Sunday newspaper cover to cover. He didn’t care what anyone else was doing, but he would be getting up late, making breakfast, eating breakfast, doing the dishes, and reading.
My mom and I were welcome to join in on his brand of “fun,” but anyone or anything outside of our immediate family of three was not.
“Family Fun Day” was more about reading and relaxing than carnival rides or road trips. Sundays were a sacred time to stay in our pajamas and catch up on all our favorite things…or find some new favorite things. Reading, writing, art, and arithmetic were encouraged. As were bike rides, long walks, and even longer naps.
My dad preferred to read lying across the floor of our living room. I regularly fell asleep reading alongside him, using his belly as my pillow.
LOSING MY RELIGION
This Sunday tradition became a sacred ritual—a mix of quiet rebellion and routine that shaped who I am today. The joy of those days stayed with me even as the circle of life happened and my life became filled with adult boys, adult joys, and adult noise.
For years, I let personal and professional obligations replace peaceful moments of inspiration and reflection. I spent more time scrolling through feeds than flipping through pages. My calendar and to-do list became my Bibles, dictating my every move and leaving little room for the wonderful wanderings that filled my childhood.
And yet, a part of me always longed for the simplicity of those “Family Fun Days”.
Like so many of us, I also long for my dad and my mom.
RECLAIMING MY TIME
Recently, I’ve been making a conscious effort to reclaim more of my time. To prioritize reading, writing, and relaxing not as luxuries but as necessities.
It started with an article, then an essay, and ultimately a book. Before I knew it, I was devouring pages like I had as a kid, rediscovering the joy of getting lost in a story.
The writing followed naturally. At first, it was just jotting down thoughts, a few scattered lines in a notebook. But those lines grew into paragraphs, then pages. I started to see the value in creating space for my own voice, unfiltered and unhurried.
As for relaxing, I’m still working on that. Insomnia is a houseguest that won’t go away, won’t pay rent, and won’t let you rest…for long. But I have been getting more sleep lately, so yay for progress!
BALANCING ROUTINE + REBELLION
What I’ve come to realize is that the balance between routine and rebellion is where my creativity thrives. Routine gives me a solid foundation to build on. Rebellion—whether it’s cutting up clip-on ties or turning off my phone for a few hours—creates the space I need to dream, to explore, and to question.
Reclaiming my Sundays as “Fun Days”—even without my parents—has been an act of rebellion against the demands of the world. But it’s also a return to the routines that nurtured me and allowed me to grow into a man who values creativity and curiosity.
A RETURN TO LOVE
I’ve started to see reading, writing, and relaxing as acts of resistance in a world that’s always vying for our attention. They’re a way of saying no to the noise and yes to the messes that matter…to me anyway. And maybe, just maybe, they’re a way of bringing back a bit of that “Family Fun Day” to my life.
So here’s to routines and rebellions, to books and blank pages, to dreaming and doing. Here’s to finding our way back to the things that make us feel alive.
And here’s to the hope that, somewhere out there, a kid is cutting up their clip-on ties and skipping church to read, write, and relax. Life’s too short for clip-on ties.
Thanks for reading and subscribing!
Clint 🌈✌️
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Saturday = Bluesky To The Rescue
Friday = A Year On Substack (Part 3)
Thursday = A Year On Substack (Part 2)
Wednesday = A Year On Substack (Part 1)
Tuesday = Dreams > Nightmares
Monday = Sing Out Loud + Proud
ON THIS DAY = JANUARY 26
BIRTHDAYS
1880 = Douglas MacArthur = American general
1892 = Bessie Coleman = American pilot
1899 = Günther Reindorff = Russian-Estonian graphic designer and illustrator
1905 = Maria von Trapp = Austrian-American singer
1915 = William Hopper = American actor
1921 = Akio Morita = Japanese businessman and Sony co-founder
1925 = Paul Newman = American actor, director, and businessman 🌈💯
1924 = Annette Strauss = American philanthropist and politician
1938 = Henry Jaglom = English-American director and screenwriter
1944 = Angela Davis = American activist and academic 🌈
1946 = Gene Siskel = American journalist and film critic
1949 = David Strathairn = American actor
1953 = Lucinda Williams = American singer-songwriter
1955 = Eddie Van Halen = Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1958 = Anita Baker = American singer-songwriter
1958 = Ellen DeGeneres = American actor and comedian 🌈
1961 = Wayne Gretzky = Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1963 = Andrew Ridgeley = English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 = Sara Rue = American actor
EVENTS
1790 = Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Così fan tutte premieres.
1886 = Nikola Tesla is issued nearly 200 patents worldwide.
1915 = The Rocky Mountain National Park is established.
1926 = John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of the television.
1934 = The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, NYC.
1971 = Look Magazine includes Jack Baker and Michael McConnell as part of its cover article on “The American Family.” Baker and McConnell are the first same-sex couple in the US to be granted a marriage license.
1979 = The Dukes of Hazzard premieres on CBS.
1996 = Rent opens off Broadway in the New York Theater Workshop for a six-week run. The creator, Jonathan Larson, died the night before the premiere.
2010 = "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and featuring Beyoncé is released.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“If you're playing a poker game and you look around the table and and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you.”
Paul Newman
“It's kind of like those little electric bumper cars where you drive around and see if you can hit the other guy. That's exactly what the country is like now. You no longer have the sense of community. Of loyalty. It's lost its sense of group. It has nothing to do with leadership.”
Paul Newman
Absolutely love this glimpse of your childhood, Clint - curled up with Dad reading is a very special memory. Thanks for sharing! 💜