Story of the Day: Don’t Wait Until Sunday!

Every Sunday morning, Michael made the same promise to himself.

“This week will be different.”

He would learn the guitar. He would call his old friend. He would start exercising. He would finally read the books that had been sitting on his shelf for years.

But Sunday evening always arrived before he had done any of it.

“There’s always next week,” he would say.

One Sunday, while cleaning his apartment, Michael found an old photograph. It showed him and his best friend, Daniel, standing beside a lake when they were twenty. They had both been laughing, holding fishing rods they had no idea how to use.

On the back of the photograph, Daniel had written:

“Let’s come back here when we’re older.”

Michael smiled.

They had never returned.

Michael picked up his phone and searched for Daniel’s number. He hesitated for a moment. They had not spoken for almost eight years.

“I’ll call him next Sunday,” he thought.

Then he stopped.

Next Sunday.

He suddenly realised how many things in his life had been pushed into the future with those two words.

Next Sunday, next month, next year.

He remembered something his mother had once told him:

“Be careful with ‘someday’. It sounds like a real day, but nobody knows when it is.”

That evening, Michael called Daniel.

Daniel answered after the third ring.

“Michael? Is that really you?”

They laughed.

They talked for nearly two hours. Daniel had moved to another city, had two children, and was still terrible at fishing.

“So,” Michael said, “what about that lake?”

There was a short silence.

“Why not next weekend?” Daniel replied.

Michael smiled.

“Why not?”

The following Saturday, they met at the lake. The place had changed, and so had they. But for a few hours, they were twenty again.

After that day, Michael did not suddenly become a perfect person. He still postponed things sometimes. He still had busy weeks and lazy Sundays.

But he stopped using “someday” as an excuse.

If something mattered, he tried to begin.

Sometimes the beginning was small: one phone call, one page, one walk, one honest conversation.

He had finally understood that life does not ask us to finish everything today.

It only asks us not to keep waiting for a better day to begin.

So don’t wait until Sunday. If something matters to you, take one small step today. Someday may sound like a promise, but today is the only day you can actually use.

---

True or False?

1. Michael always kept the promises he made to himself.
2. He wanted to learn the guitar and become more active.
3. Michael found an old photograph while cleaning his apartment.
4. The photograph showed Michael and Daniel when they were twenty.
5. Michael and Daniel had returned to the lake many times.
6. Michael had not spoken to Daniel for almost eight years.
7. Michael decided to wait until the following Sunday before contacting Daniel.
8. Daniel agreed to meet Michael at the lake the following weekend.
9. Michael became a completely different person and never postponed anything again.
10. Michael learned that meaningful things should not always be postponed.

---

Vocabulary Synonym Quiz

Choose the word or phrase closest in meaning to the bold word.

1. Michael promised himself that things would change.
   A) gave himself a commitment
   B) forgot
   C) doubted
   D) refused
2. The books had been sitting on his shelf for years.
   A) being read
   B) remaining in one place
   C) disappearing
   D) being sold
3. Michael hesitated before calling Daniel.
   A) acted immediately
   B) paused because he was uncertain
   C) became angry
   D) forgot the number
4. He realised how many things he had postponed.
   A) understood
   B) denied
   C) changed
   D) predicted
5. He had pushed many things into the future.
   A) moved or delayed
   B) completed
   C) forgotten permanently
   D) celebrated
6. Daniel replied after a short silence.
   A) answered
   B) shouted
   C) disappeared
   D) laughed
7. Michael used “someday” as an excuse.
   A) reason used to avoid doing something
   B) plan for the future
   C) serious promise
   D) useful opportunity
8. Michael tried to begin when something mattered.
   A) finish
   B) start
   C) postpone
   D) avoid
9. The beginning was sometimes small.
   A) unimportant
   B) simple and limited
   C) expensive
   D) unexpected
10. Michael took a step toward changing his life.
    A) an action or movement forward
    B) a physical journey
    C) a mistake
    D) a final decision

---

Mini Glossary (English / Turkish)

---

A Question for You?

Michael kept saying, “Next Sunday.”

Is there something you have been telling yourself you will do someday (learn something new, call someone, travel somewhere, start a project, or simply make more time) for yourself?

What is one small step you could take today instead of waiting for someday?

---

ANSWER KEY

True or False Key

1. False — Michael often postponed the things he wanted to do.
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. False — They had never returned to the lake.
6. True
7. False — He stopped himself from waiting and called Daniel that evening.
8. True
9. False — He still postponed things sometimes.
10. True

Vocabulary Synonym Quiz Key

1. A — gave himself a commitment
2. B — remaining in one place
3. B — paused because he was uncertain
4. A — understood
5. A — moved or delayed
6. A — answered
7. A — reason used to avoid doing something
8. B — start
9. B — simple and limited
10. A — an action or movement forward