by Roberta Velyn

Created on: October 30, 2008

When my children were small they were early risers. Finding things to keep them busy on Saturdays was easy: in the spring, summer and fall the bulletin board at the mall was always cluttered with flyers for garage sales and yard sales where the early bird gets the worm. I would check out the display the night before and jot down the addresses so that I could plan our route to avoid excess driving while taking in all the sales that were likely to have lots of kid stuff on display. Bright and early Saturday morning we were in the car with our itinerary, watching for un-advertised sales to add to our shopping tour.

I gave each of the kids their own small allowance to spend so that while they were kept busy looking for things they could afford, I was free to shop for things we actually needed. The kids all became dedicated bargain hunters, and soon learned that inclement weather meant less competition for the good buys, so there were no objections to going out on a drizzly or windy Saturday morning. Most of our Christmas shopping was done before winter arrived, and over the years we found some real treasures .

In winter, the mall corridors were open well before the stores slid back their doors, so the kids could run and shout and window shop with a freedom impossible at any other time. We often encountered elderly acquaintances there, taking their morning exercise out of the weather and over time this became something of a social outing as well.

Sunday morning was a different matter. I was at my wits' end trying to find activities to keep the kids occupied and quiet while their father slept in. Stores and museums didn't open until later, and I was not about to let my kids sit in front of the television for hours on end. Salvation came when a nearby church advertised an early morning service. My husband was not a church-goer, so I had let my attendance slide, but I felt that I was being called back to the fold. My kids loved to dress up, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. Getting a two-year-old to sit through a church service was something of a challenge, but when I and a few other young parents started attending services regularly some of the older ladies in the congregation offered to take turns minding a "nursery" where the children could color or do crafts or play with toys. The service was followed by Sunday School, and almost every month there was some occasion for a pot-luck lunch or supper later in the day.

As the children grew older we participated

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