For those of you who did not walk around all day w/a cross made of ashes on your forehead, today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. Its the time us Catholics spend making sacrifices, thinking about our sinful nature and reflecting on death. Sounds fun, right!?!
In truth, Lent has never been my favorite time on the Catholic calendar. I mean, 40 days of sin and death don't really give you the warm-fuzzies the way that Christmas does, you know? That being said, I appreciate the reminder that life doesn't last forever and that the time to be the kind of person you want to be is now. So if you can't fathom why people walk around w/dirt on their foreheads all day, that's pretty much what its all about.
Now how to explain Lent to a 2 year old...as much as I can appreciate the whole "death, sin and sacrifice" theme, I'm pretty sure that message is still lost on Andy. So, at least for the next few years, I'll let him go on thinking Ash Wednesday is the day grown-ups get to act like kids and let a man dressed in purple robes wipe dirt on their faces.
Since we are on the topic of Lent, I'm still trying to decide what to give up this year and I'm giving myself until Friday to decide. I've narrowed it down to:
No taking the easy way out and ordering dinner out during the week. If I pick this one, I wonder if Chili's will still remember my standard order (buffalo chicken salad, chicken fajita quesedillas) come April 13th?
Give up diet coke, drink more water & get more sleep. Note to self: find out how much sleep is equivalant to the caffeine in 2 diet cokes.
I know, am I really considering giving up my daily Grande White Chocolate Mocha? Well, sort of. I'm thinking of downgrading my morning pick-me-up to a tall WCM instead. Those of you who don't think that sounds like much of a sacrifice have no idea how much I look forward to my daily trip to Starbucks.
Regardless of what I decide, I'll be donating the money I save to a few of my favorite causes supporting adoptive families so that other families can have the chance to explain to their 2 year old child why today is the only day of the year its okay to have dirty on your forehead.
2 comments:
Great post!
Kids question everything, don't they? I love it, but it does keep my on my toes with "age appropriate" answers.
Our local mexican food resturant could really just start making our food when they see us walk in the door!
So... what did you decide??? If you picked Starbuck's I will be in shock (but very proud of you)! :)
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