Sunday — je t’aime

Jessica Rubie
Nov 3 · 2 min read
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

Of all the things on my ever-growing list of things Europeans do better than Americans, Sunday might be at the very top.

I studied abroad in France, and I remember the period of indignation and adjustment I went through when I realized everything — and I mean EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. And this was 1999 — way before I had grown accustomed to Amazon Now delivering wine, a new hairdryer, and laundry detergent within an hour of me pressing ‘BUY’ on my smartphone.

Because I am/was très américain, I sought the comfort of other people who wanted to ‘do things’. My American friends and I banded together to take trips, create activities, and seek out the convenience stores and food carts (often immigrant-owned) to whom French Sunday trade laws didn’t apply. Those establishments that could keep us in food and drink, so our bodies and sense of individual freedom wouldn’t starve for 24 hours, once a week.

And then it happened.

One Sunday.

No plans.

The world didn’t end.

We didn’t starve.

Free markets didn’t collapse.

And we started to understand the beauty of the French Sunday.

No one makes plans, which means everyone has time. Time to indulge in visiting, a meal, a nap, a book, a walk. Time to just BE.

And for my American friends and me on that particular Sunday — that BEING meant being together. With the wine we had bought in bulk at le supermarché — because again — très américain.

And so began my American love affair with Sundays, and a long journey of learning to just BE.

Jessica Rubie

Written by

Doing ambition differently. www.etresociety.com

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