Things are different in Marshall on Sundays compared to other days of the week.

You can tell by getting in your car and driving around. The streets have much less traffic. The downtown area is wide open.

That’s because we don’t have all the commuters that drive into Marshall on business days. It shows how vital they are to our local economy, how they play an important role in sustaining our employment base.

In some ways it’s nice to have things slow down for a day. People can take time out to relax, spend time with their families, and enjoy their pastimes.

For me personally, Sundays are not my favorite day of the week. I enjoy being busy. I like helping out at the paper and being involved in the community.

I’m not someone who can just sit around watching sports on television. I don’t have a hobby that you can spend an entire day with like fishing or working on cars.

There are several things that really help on Sundays. One is reading. I can spend the better part of an afternoon in my favorite recliner reading from one of my books or old magazines. It’s fun to choose something that I know will be interesting.

Another good thing is jigsaw puzzles. My sister gave me one about Minnesota landmarks for Christmas. It has 1,000 pieces, which means it will take me a long time to finish.

I’ve linked together most of the sections of the puzzle that have lettering. We’ll see how long it takes to do the harder task of matching the rest of the pieces.

Sunday is good for taking walks. I have a favorite route that circles around my neighborhood and takes me through Liberty Park. In the summer it’s also possible to go out to Camden or to one of the lakes in the surrounding area.

Another possibility is eating out. Some local restaurants are closed, but there’s still a fairly good selection. It surprises me that more people don’t eat out on Sundays. It’s a day when there’s plenty of time.

Probably what gets me through Sundays most of all is family. I visit my mom in the afternoon for a longer amount of time than I visit during the week.

I have several extended family members in the area who I sometimes see on weekends. There are many more long distance relatives who are only a phone call away.

I sometimes find myself wishing that more things were open on Sunday. It would be nice to go to downtown stores, the museum, the library, the Adult Community Center or other places.

Some of those organizations have tried Sunday hours in the past. Not enough people in Marshall take advantage of it. We’re just a traditional rural area where Sunday is mainly a family day and a church day.

Sundays teach me that’s it’s important to take time for family and at least a little time for church. They also teach me that it’s okay to sometimes not have a lot of places to go and things to accomplish.

It’s all right to step back. It’s fine to take an afternoon nap. It’s good to start the day with a second cup of coffee.

Last but not least, it’s not a bad idea to think ahead to the upcoming week. It’s valuable to plan ahead, to have some sense of what should be done in the next five day work week.

Like any day Sunday is what we make it. If I sit around thinking that I’m bored, I’ll be unhappy. If I find ways to enjoy the slower pace and to just coast along, everything turns out for the best.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent