You wanna talk about sacrifice?!
Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season. This is a time of reflection for many, some find purpose in making personal sacrifices during this holy period. Me, not so much. Rather, I am a VICTIM of Lent.
My husband is one of those people that believes in the power of cleansing his soul in the weeks leading up to Easter. AGAIN this year, my husband has informed me that he is gong to be practicing a Lenten fast.
Okay, so what exactly WILL you be eating? Is it a vegan diet? He isn't really clear.....from what I can gather he can eat paint chips and Quinoa. As you may recall, I am already living with a vegetarian, my daughter Maeve.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm a confirmed meat eater, a person that generally dislikes vegetables, and for the most part, the family cook. So, for any that may ask....what am I doing for Lent? I'm trying to put together a meal that doesn't suck for me the meat eater, and looks like I care about their ridiculous dietary demands.
I will say, I got caught up in the "hype" of doing something for Lent...it had been a while, so I decided, that outside of my Herculean effort on the home front, I would also make some personal sacrifice(s). I chose to forego something, AND add something of spiritual value to my life over the next few weeks...I suspect I will fail quickly at both. In terms of something I will do without, I will attempt to quit cursing over the next few weeks. Those that know me are saying, 'yeah, that'll be the F-in day". Probably right, but F-you, I have God on my side. What I will attempt to do to ADD to my spiritual existence is to go to church every Sunday. Unfortunately, since that Holy Lenten Decision, I have made plans to visit my NY childhood friends In Foxwoods this weekend. That would mean that I will be in Foxwoods on Sunday morning. For those that know this crowd, you will understand that I will most definitely NEED some holy intervention by Sunday morning...but those very reasons that I will NEED holy intervention is exactly why I will find myself physically limited in my ability to receive any sort of absolution. We'll see how I do on this very first Sunday. I think mass at Foxwoods, if there is such a thing, will be a hoot.
SIDE NOTE: a little off topic, but not too much. Tom and my FIRST official date, we were in our early 20's, was a home-made meal at my apartment in Chelsea MA. In terms of "good ideas", I'll let that sentence speak for itself. I cooked my specialty; shake-n-bake pork chops and Betty Crocker boxed au gratin potatoes (you will see a reference to this SAME menu in an earlier blog entry). We then proceeded to drive over the Tobin Bridge into Boston and had a few cocktails at Clarks (again, for those in the know, time to roll your eyes). Well, flash forward a few weeks, I was invited to Tom' s parents house for Sunday dinner. Apparently Sunday = pasta night, even amongst the Irish. Well, while we all squeezed around the kitchen table and the spaghetti and pasta/meatballs was put on the table for all us MEAT EATERS, Tom's Mom Anna had a special delivery for her VEGETARIAN son Tom - a meatless lasagna. I looked at my "boyfriend" who had happily scoffed down my pork chops with no word about how he has made a moral/preference decision not to eat meat, and I should have known then that this was a guy I might want to marry.
