Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lent Observation

The church I am a member of does not observe Lent. It is not part of our religious practice. I didn't know what Ash Wednesday was until I was a senior in high school. I did not know what Lent was until I did some research on it a few years back. I had heard people talking in passing about what they were giving up for Lent, and that sounded like an interesting concept.

For the past three (?) I think three years, my daughter have done our own Lent observance. Starting on Fat Tuesday with Paczki's--a local tradition. This year I am over-nighting Paczki's 1600 miles so she (and her roommates) can have them on Fat Tuesday. Am I a great mom or what? haha! You would think so if you knew how much it cost! Oh, my!

She is, as she had done every year, giving up sweets. And she actually does it! For six whole weeks, with the exception of one day, her birthday, which is always during Lent. Amazing!

I have my own admittedly secular goals for Lent. I understand the spiritual aspect of giving something up for Lent, but my goals are not spiritual, more of an effort to change habits and do better.

Anyway, this is what I do, or rather, what I don't do.

During Lent, I do not buy:
  • Candy

  • Ice cream

  • Ice cream toppings

  • Cookies

  • Desserts

  • Muffins

  • Pop/soda

  • Little Debbie's or anything like unto it

  • Fast food/convenience store hot chocolate, slushies, smoothies, chocolate milk, milk shakes, ice cream, frosties, desserts, donuts, Danish, sweet treats, etc, etc, etc.

(Except for shopping for Easter Baskets, which I don't start until shortly before Easter, and Star's birthday.)

I can make any of that stuff, I just can't buy it. And, during Lent in the years past, I have been very successful with this challenge. I just need to challenge myself (and maybe reward myself!) to continue on past Lent and add other goals to the list.

Disclaimer: I hope this post does not offend those who keep Lent in the traditional way. I just wanted to write about my light-hearted, admittedly secular goals. 'Cause, you know, it's all about ME!!!

3 comments:

Renee said...

Hi there! Did you mean me over at Like Merchant Ships? Are you who I think you are? Did I send you a card through real snail mail the other week?

If the answer is "no" to any of those, I'm sorry. I'm not a crazy person. You would just not be who I'm thinking of in this wacky cyber world!
Cheers!

Stacy said...

I don't really know what Lent is. I didn't grow up with it or know anyone else who did either. I guess in a way im taking part in the "giving something up" aspect though... I have given up MOST of a baby site i use to spend horrible amounts of time in. Instead of trolling the whole board i am limiting myself to two sections which are both enjoyable but not very active forcing me to lower my 'forum time' from near all day to about 10 minutes a day. Wee!

I also read your homemade syrup post! I didn't know people made thier own syrup. Can you store it and save it for later use?? I want to make most things homemade, and this is a GREAT recipe to add to my small but growing stash. :)

Annette Lyon said...

I'm duly impressed. So here's a question--do you lose weight during Lent?