Unlike Morrissey, I miss boring Sundays.

Whilst my eldest son and I were driving to our local shopping center on a?Sunday?a few weeks ago I was telling him how things weren't open when I was a kid on this day. Shocked at this news he asked "so what did you do dad?" to which I explained the following.

I told him Sundays, when I was a lad (oh here we go!) was a day to be a little bored. However, it was also time to see close family and friends. My Dad would take me and my older sister to see his parents whilst my mam (a North East UK term for mother) cooked our Sunday lunch. Whilst there we'd see our cousins every week and go home around 12ish?to eat a huge dinner. You could smell the gravy and meat roasting from our kitchen 50 meters away!

We'd have my other Grandad over for dinner but then around 1.30 PM, we'd drive out to see my mams mother for afternoon tea. We'd see all our other cousins and aunts and uncles there too.

There were no computers, iPads, or iPhones nor was there WIFI on offer so to entertain ourselves we'd be outside on the football field (my sister loved that!) or play street games whilst our parents, aunties and uncles talked about, well, boring adult stuff.

My dad would always fall asleep around 3 o'clock after feeling the effects of my mam's huge Sunday dinner. Paying the price for eating too much sapping his energy levels. Dad Nap time! Add in my nana's roaring hot gas fire going?pell-mell on full heat?the poor guy never had a chance. And he'd always get into trouble off my mam for doing so! :-)

We'd then go home around 5.30 PM and settle down watching TV shows like?Bullseye ,?Highway to Heaven , or?Little House on the Prairie ! Michael Landon was the?king?of wholesome Sunday TV back then! Or, if that wasn't exciting enough I'd stay in my room playing games on my spectrum 48k computer or imagine I was a?Jedi ?with all my Star Wars Toys.

There were no shops open, okay perhaps a local corner store but that was it. The TV programs during the day weren't the best either but again, that was fine. And, if on the odd occasion we'd not see our Grandparents or family I'd go out on my BMX with my mates, play football or simply stay in the house bored .

Once I explained this?fascinating story?(huge amounts of sarcasm there!) he looked at me a little enviously for about 2 seconds and said "well that's fair enough dad, sounds cool" then he switched his iPhone on and started chatting to his mates on Snapchat... Kids eh!

Now, I don't want to get into any kind of debate on whether or not we had it better in the '80s, etc than today. Trust me, some things weren't so great. Must add the music was much better though, (FACT . 1981-1986) however, it did make me realize just how much I miss those lazy and often boring Sundays now and again and the value they gave in experiencing them. And actually, if you listen to the famous song "every day is Like Sunday" by Morrissey, the lead singer from the Smiths (a band of the '80s) he shares his thoughts about the boring times he spent as a child that specific day - Play?here . For all he sings about it negatively, I remember loads of benefits this?sacred and sometimes boring day?offered me and my family:

• it gave me a day to rest and recover from a busy week.
• it allowed me to see extended family and my mates outside of school.
• It allowed my dad, who was a truck driver working from 5.30 AM - 5 PM time to relax and switch off... and have his nap!
• It allowed my mam to have time on her own away from my dad but also us, her annoying kids! She could cook & listen to her favorite songs from The?Drifters ,?Neil Sedaka,? and the?Everly Brothers ?on her record player. She loved it and in truth, so did I and to this day still love all those songs from the '60s.

After a full Sunday's relaxation and recharging seeing friends and family we'd all be ready for the dreaded Monday morning (quote Bob !). We'd had a full day away from work life, something that was so important for mam and dad. A great Harvard Business Review article by?Elizabeth Grace Saunders ?explains why working parents should give themselves permission to recharge?here .?

So, if you love Sundays and going out shopping etc on this day maybe this article isn't for you. However, if you can, do try to give yourself at least one lazy & boring day now and again... I mean,?How Soon is now !?