Fun in a monastery? Fun in the country!

So, what do contemplative Benedictine sisters do for fun and relaxation?  Or is it all pray and no fun?  We do have a free night on Thursdays, once a week as well as a free Saturday once a month.   I remember telling my young niece many years ago that we sisters had a free day once a month and she looked at me like I had two heads and said, “What’s a free day?”  A free day means we have nothing scheduled from after Mass at 8am until Vespers at 6pm so we can spend the day leisurely.

A free night means that after Vespers, the evening meal (in the Midwest we call that supper) is on our own and there is no compline (night prayer).  Sometimes there is a movie option to watch or sisters work on hobbies or spend time outdoors doing their favorite leisure activity.

Another option is to go to one of our favorite haunts, a short 10 mile drive away, in nearby Stanberry.   Our destination is a place called Stewart’s.    It is an ‘order at the window’ type of place with no inside seating.  You can get burgers, chicken, fries, tots, etc. and a variety of ice creams.  There are two picnic tables in front of Stewart’s which conveniently sits on Hwy 169 which is also the main street of Stanberry.  So you can enjoy your turtle mint blizzard sitting just feet away from diesel belching semi’s or various types of farm equipment as they rumble through town AND get your teeth rattled from the vibrations as they pass.

A group of us went there just last Thursday evening.   It was cold and rainy but, heck, any time is a good time for ice cream, isn’t it?   A couple of sisters actually turned down my invitation saying they were too cold!!  Anyway, four brave souls ventured out.  In a small country town like Stanberry, this type of place is always busy.  A cold rainy night doesn’t deter the locals. 

Actually what I enjoy as much as their ice cream is their fried dill pickles.  People tend to wrinkle up their nose at that item when I suggest it.   However, even I wrinkle up my nose at their chicken livers and gizzards.    You can get chicken ‘meat’ at any old fast food place.  But imagine ordering at the drive-through window of McDonald’s – “A large order of gizzards, please.”   

Needless to say we were all shivering by the time we got our food because it WAS cold standing out there waiting.   Who the heck goes out for ice cream when it’s cold out?  Sisters who don't get out much most probably!  :)