I was raised in a very traditional, Southern Catholic family. Went to Catholic school from Kindergarten until the Class of 1980 marched out of the church, diplomas in hand. So naturally, the tradition of 'what are you giving up for Lent?' has been well beaten into my head.
Now, these days, I'm not a practicing Catholic, much to the dismay of my Mom. When I say not practicing, I don't go to church, but I do have faith and I pray and I live my life as a good Christian should. And even though I don't practice the Catholic rituals on a regular basis, I still observe Lent. I figure it's one small step I can take in my otherwise heathenous (is that a word?) life that may get me a pass through the pearly gates.
So, this year I'm going to vow to give up 2 of my favorite things for Lent: Diet Coke and fast food. The Diet Coke part is going to be the hardest for me - I love the stuff. It's my morning shot of caffeine since I'm not much of a coffee drinker. The fast food? Well, since I've been working out so hard, I've pretty much been staying away from it, but do have my moments of weakness (like last night - that Taco Bell run with Aero just before settling in to watch "The Biggest Loser" was mighty tasty) on occasion. So that should be fairly easy to do.
I'm also going to cut out as much refined sugar as I can from my diet. I shouldn't have the stuff anyway since I'm diabetic, but I do tend to indulge myself since between my diet, exercise and medications, I've had my blood sugar pretty well under control for a while. So out with the white stuff!
Beyond the usual 'give _________ up for Lent' routine, I've decided that this year, I need to do something positive in my life, so I'm going to try to get some volunteer time in somewhere. Last year, when Christian visited me for Easter, I signed the two of us up to serve lunch at one of the big soup kitchens in San Francisco. It was a real eye-opener for both of us, and it also helped me find compassion that I didn't know was buried somewhere down deep in my heart. I need to find that feeling again.
So here we go. The next 40 days are going to be interesting.
Until Next Time,
Kel
1 comment:
God bless you woman! You're a better Catholic than I am. I haven't given anything up for Lent since I was at St. Bridget's! And to give up so much at once! More power to you. I think I'd have to try one at a time. I'll be cheering you on!
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