What's a typical Sunday for you?
It’s tradition around the world to enjoy Sunday as a day of rest. It’s the time when we can wake up late, relax, go to our favorite mall or just stay at home to spend time and break bread with family members. It’s the favorite day of the week for many and the day that we all hope will never end. Read on as friends share with us their typical Sunday.
Charie Villa, head, News & Online Business Network Group, ABS CBN
My Sundays are sacred. Sunday is the day I set aside for myself. I like to ride my mountain bike after breakfast, go around the metro and see real life as I pass it (you don’t see that when you’re in a car). I make sure that I only do things and accept invitations that I know will enhance my being, my essence. I only go to Sunday gatherings organized by people close to me, family and real friends. I thank my late mom for instilling in us that “even God rested on Sabbath day,” and I resisted work and worked only when it was a matter of life and death. Although I’ve been missing a lot of Sunday Masses lately, I never forget to pray and meditate. I know you may ask why can’t I go to Mass when it is only an hour every Sunday? My late mother didn’t only make sure we stayed with family every Sunday (I was only excused when I had basketball games. I was a UP Varsity player in the UAAP from 1980 to ‘84), she also nagged us to go to Mass every Sunday when she was alive! As I got older, I asked myself, do I really get what life is all about or His teachings in these Sunday Masses or is it just fulfilling an obligation? Jesus did not merely participate in public and prescribed worship services. Perhaps even more often the Gospels tell of solitary prayer in the still of the night, on open mountaintops, in the wilderness far from people. But yes, I will go to the Sunday Masses too. In time I will. My sisters and brother will nag me now after they read this.
John Lapus, host, Showbiz Central
Sunday is the only day of the week that I work. I’ve been working for showbiz-oriented talk shows for the past 18 years: Showbiz Lingo, The Buzz and now Showbiz Central. After Showbiz Central I go to Mass then have dinner with my family. Then a movie pag may maganda. Grabe ang busy ko pag Sunday!
Beth Romualdez, food consultant, cookbook author
Sundays were sacred when my kids were growing up. It was a time for bonding and culinary adventure. We picked restaurants we hadn’t tried if there were no themed dinners at home. That changed when they got married and their kids were growing up and had activities and out-of-town trips of their own. Nowadays, we still get together as much as we can although in most cases, they are the ones adjusting to my schedule because of my frequent travels and work. Sunday Mass is always a part of the day, and when time permits, some pampering at a beauty salon for quiet and relaxing time. Lately, I have been watching 3D movies with my grandkids. Cheap thrills as they seem, laughing and bonding with them makes me young and energized again.
Lara Parpan, editor in chief, Women’s Health
Sunday for me means sleep, exercise, and eating! If I didn’t sign up for a Sunday morning race, I sleep in (because I probably partied till 4 a.m.!) Then I get lunch at Legaspi Market. In the afternoon, I meet up with some of my triathlon teammates to do a run of an hour or two around the villages. I swim laps (about 2,000 meters) after. If my mom’s down from Tagaytay (she lives there), she and I catch a movie and dinner; or it’s a movie and coffee date with my girl gang.
Arnold Clavio, broadcast journalist, GMA Network Inc.
A typical Sunday for me is first waking up late, around 8 or 9 a.m. Bumabawi ng tulog because I wake up at 4 a.m. from Monday to Saturday. Then, either we go to church or visit a market that sells organic food. After that, I just stay home playing with my one-year-old apo, Zoey. Kakaalis ng stress.
Rep. Roilo Golez, Parañaque, 2nd district
Typical Sunday: Read online news, e-mails and FB postings starting at around 4:30 a.m. (this is a daily routine). Workout for 20 to 25 minutes consisting of indoor jog and shadow boxing. Breakfast is at around 6 a.m., Mass at around 7:30 a.m. in one of the churches of Parañaque (no regular one for me, I rotate, except that I go more frequently to the churches in my home subdivision, Church of the Resurrection and Presentation of the Child Jesus. Coffee with Araw Running Club at Tropical Hut BF Homes Parañaque (been doing this for more than 20 years off and on). Lunch with the family, either immediate or together with brother and sister. But this changes whenever there are invitations like barangay or purok fiestas. The afternoons are usually for sports events, pa-liga, etc. I do a lot of walking in between scheduled events, going to eskinitas and various corners. That’s why I need to change my undershirt as much as three to four times a day. That’s rain or shine, night or day. Evenings are for inductions and songfests at barangay or purok or sitio level. If open, I have dinner with my immediate family Late evenings are for Facebook and YouTube postings.
Shawn Yao, TV personality
Sleep is the only thing on my agenda. After that, family and fatty food.
Rep. Jose S. Aquino II, Agusan del Norte, 1st District
We start the day right and make Sunday “holy” because it’s Sabbath day, we offer the day to our God Almighty. Spend it with my lovely wife Mimi, and children Miboy and Nana. We go to church and celebrate the Eucharist together. and take advantage of the opportunity to bond with my family doing things together.
Salome Uy, businesswoman
My family has very laidback Sundays! We are morning people, that’s why we are full of energy by 7 a.m. My daughter would usually want to ride the bike around the subdivision and I would brisk walk after her. After that, we would all be famished so we would head over to McDo for pancakes and rice with longganisa. My daughter would then head over to the play area while hubby and me read Philippine STAR and enjoy our coffee. And before we head home we would pass by the Sunday markets to pick up some fresh haul for lunch.
Margie Penson Juico, PCSO chairperson
A typical lazy Sunday starts at mid-morning with late breakfast in our room. A welcome treat awaits us when our youngest daughter Mayen decides to join us and regale us with stories about herself, her work and anything that comes to her mind. We get an added bonus when our son Vincent joins in. Then, I check on my messages on my iPad and after a couple of hours, we prepare to move to the big house (we stay in a family compound) for lunch with my aging mother-in-law and my husband’s siblings and their wives. Over red wine and tuna sashimi we talk about a rainbow of issues and personalities. At about 4 p.m., we move back to our house so my husband can have his weekly manicure and pedicure while sleeping as Mayen and I watch The Buzz. We usually have dinner with our children, either at our son Joseph’s house or at any restaurant of their choice whoever’s turn it is to treat. The day is usually capped with family prayers, each one of us lifting to the Lord our personal petitions. We make it a point to sleep early to make ourselves ready for the next week’s grind.
Rep. Emmi A. De Jesus, Gabriela Women’s party list representative
Sunday mornings are precious for me. When I have it free, I devote it to going to the market and cooking my speciality dishes. Kitchen work is my best therapy against stress, especially if I am assisted by my seven-year-old grandaughter Zai! The rest of Sunday is devoted to meetings, consultations with the different women’s organizations based in urban poor communities. Most of these gatherings are organized by women who want to know more about women’s rights and welfare.
