My dear fiance' and I both have demanding jobs and the work week is always hectic and exhausting. So when the weekend comes around, I marvel at how different they are now compared to my former life as a mormon.

Saturday mornings--sleeping in a little. Having my sweetie come tell me he's made me coffee and giving me a kiss or sometimes joining me back in bed for a little snuggling. Then, coffee and reading the paper together and a little breakfast. Doing our thing the rest of the day and going out Saturday night, maybe a cocktail and some good lovin' later.

Sunday mornings the same thing with NO pressure to get to church, do VT, prepare a lesson, spend 3 hours being bored with lessons designed to make me feel like I am never doing enough, being good enough, or doing things that are bad.

I used to HATE the weekends. Now they are a luxury I won't take for granted. Instead of being exhausted at the end of the weekend, I am rested and ready to take on the work week once again.

I always enjoy watching my mormon neighbors on Sunday loading all the kids and heading out to the meetings. In the summer I sit on my front porch and have my coffee and wave at them.

:) I don't live in the morridor... but we live on a military installation and there is an LDS chapel literally right outside our front gate.. a few Sundays ago DH, the kids and I decided to drive up to Springfield and check it all out... we were behind a huge amount of cars all in the turning lane for the church. As we drove by I looked and smiled at them. None of them looked happy or excited. I felt sad for them.... and happy for us because Springfield was actually pretty nice :) And fun. The kids had a blast!

I agree. Isn't it nice?

I actually get to *see* my kids on the weekend and do what I want to do. My wife and I have time together-she was practically a stranger because our schedules never had us home together, what with jobs and then all the church requirements EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK and ALL WEEKEND. If there was a free night, you were too exhausted to do anything with it.

Think of all the mind-numbing mormon tasks (HT, VT, Callings) that are no longer required. I don't miss them at all. Especially people visiting us out of the blue without warning. That really used to grate on me, especially as I got older.

There's also little contention anymore. Mormonism is full of contention. So and so said this. There's this meeting I have to go to, usually last minute. So and so is upset with this aspect of their organization and bla bla bla. No more negativity. Its amazing how much pollution the mormon church brings into the average family. You can't begin to appreciate it until its gone. I don't miss it.

I don't feel rushed, harrassed or overwhelmed anymore, especially on weekends. No drama. I have the time to take care of important things that usually get sacrificed at the mormon alter. I also have the time to do....nothing at all. *smiles*

Most importantly, I don't have to care what anyone thinks anymore, a constant mormon problem.

So yes, weekends without mormonism: priceless.

Oh goodness.. I used to hate weekends!
The saturday mad dash to get lessons prepared..kids' clothes ironed, shirts ironed.. not to mention those horrible fasting weekends!
How can you NOT eat or drink on a saturday night?.. and then those endless fast and testimony meetings! gowd... they seemed to never end. Parents lifting their children up to the mic and whisper in their ears to say the 'right' things..
I used to enterain myself by looking around at everybody and imagining how they would have sex..
That would get quite funny in my head.

Now...
oh boy..
sleeping in a little on saturday, cuddles, coffee, breakfast.. taking youngest child to swimming lessons and doing the weekly shopping..

Saturday night is about relaxing.. having a drink and some nibbles, watching tv, or a movie. Stay awake as long as we like because sunday morning is no rush!

Sunday morning (around 10-ish) starts with lazy coffee.. some online/laptop time.. then husband and I head into the kitchen to make our traditinal sunday brunch

-scrabmled eggs
- bacon
- fried tomatoes/onion/pepper
- fried sausages
- baked beans
- toast

We all sit down to a lovely lazy brunch. Teenagers are obliged to partake. ;-) before going out.
The rest of the day is ours. We usually take our dog out for a long walk and maybe visit with family if we feel like it.

It is SOOOO nice!

I used to think Sunday afternoons were SO boring!. not allowed to do anything and such..

I'm loving weekends now..

That's a GREAT point! ; )

I used to hate how I had to go to church whenever MY ward started. We rotated with another ward for the early schedule or the afternoon schedule. I wanna sleep in on Sunday!!!!

Always jealous of the Catholics who could go Saturday night or anytime Sunday!

There's no such thing as a weekend in the Mormon sub-culture. As a child I was forced to work on Mormon farms and do contracted labor for the church on Saturdays. On Sundays there were the three hour block meetings with restrictions on activities: no swimming, TV viewing, etc.

By my definition a weekend is anti-Mormon. It means two days off from work or school.

When I lived in Utah as a Non-Mormon, I too loved the weekends, and Sundays the most. The poster above had it right. Literally no one was at any of the businesses, so I would always do my grocery shopping on Sunday because it was so empty. It was also the day I'd go to the movies or eat out. Heck, even the freaking STREETS seem so much emptier than usual. Is it a sin to drive on Sundays now? I don't remember. I'd always laugh when I would see guys dressed up in their church clothes, and, true enough, they would seem unhappy.