Eyelash Wednesday part deux

So, the idea has always been to give something up for Lent each year. Forty days of abstaining from something that will be difficult to abstain from. Last year, I gave up going to the drive thru. That could have meant no lunching in the car on fast food in the midst of an errand filled day. Indeed that is not what it meant to me. It meant I had to get out of the car to purchase fast food on an errand filled day. Then we just got back in the car and ate it there anyway. Lame....I agree. But it's the first attempt at giving something up in along time for me. Isn't it enough that I can't eat meat on Fridays for the n est six weeks? You have no idea how LOUDLY that package of Nathan's hot dogs is calling my name. I can hear it with the refrigerator door shut. And from the other room. So I thought maybe I'd give up chocolate. But that ended at 9:30 a.m. on Eyelash Wednesday with the consumption of three chocolate chip cookies. So clearly that won't work. Then I recalled the idea that you can also vow to do something good each and every day during
Lent. So I began to think about what specifically I could be doing to make the world a better place. I already do weekly volunteer work at the NICU; I recycle; I don't litter. I don't really have a lot of money to dispose of, so whatever I do must be free. I was stumped all morning, and then it hit me. I will return to blogging. I am so sure that all three of my faithful readers have missed my blogging so much, that my resumption of said will bring hem immense joy and happiness, and their happiness will make the world a better place. I thought about committing to blogging every day, but as I told Carly during our fun dinner out last week, I write too much when I blog. I need to practice the art of brief blogging (and by that I DO NOT mean sitting around in my underwear typing profundities.) Anyway, I did start out thinking I could blog every day, but, as you can see, I didn't blog yesterday. So I will commit to blogging 5 times a week. And the world will be a better place. I'm quite sure this is what the Vatican meant when they encouraged giving things up and doing good deeds. Aren't you? For more on giving things up for Lent, go visit Carly.

Eyelash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Lenten season in the Catholic church, as well as many other Christian denominations. This meant that Helen and I got to attend mass at the bright hour of 8 a.m. Not quite as horrendous as it sounds since Ruthie gets dropped off at school at 8 a.m. every day, and the church is attached. We just needed to leave a few minutes earlier. And Helen was remarkably good in church this morning. Her recent visits to church have generally included dancing in the aisle and signing "once upon a Dream" while smiling adoringly at the congregation. Some parishioners find this adorable, but I'm sure just as many find it aggravating. But since our pastor regularly declares that it's okay to let little kids talk, walk, sing, etc., the grumpy ones are stuck with dancing Helen. She stayed put this morning. I had warned her that the priest would be placing ashes on both of our foreheads and she was surprisingly cooperative while this was done, and then looked at me and exclaimed "Mom, he put eyelashes on your head!" Later, the realization that she also had ashes (I guess she didn't beleive it until she looked in the mirror) was met with a cry of "Mommy, get the eyelashes off my head." So I proceeded to pluck her eyelashes out one by one....be careful what you ask for. No, I didn't. But I didn't wash her ashes off ether. It's against the rules and I don't want to go to hell and all, ya know.