Lent 2021
Once again, the Lenten season is starting. For anyone new around here, I grew up Catholic, and while my family wasn't really a practicing family--and, well, I gave up God last year--I enjoy participating in the austerity of Lent. For me, it's like a reset of sorts. I cut out certain things in order to focus on other things for a time. In some cases, those changes become permanent.
Last year's Lenten season forced everyone into austerity, whether they were Catholic or not. Getting sick, and subsequently being homebound while things shut down, altered how I'd normally participate. I am hoping that this year, changes happen during Lent that will allow us to give up the austerity forced upon us. Now that a vaccine exists for an illness that wasn't on our radars as being worthy of complete and total shutdowns at the start of Lent last year, perhaps things will be better. Easter is a rebirth of sorts; it could be a rebirth of a lot of things this year. We'll see what happens come April.
In the meantime, for me, it's the start of the Crazy Lenten Diet. I enjoy food, I eat a lot of it, but I enjoy eating a lot of things that aren't good for me. I started this almost 20 years ago now, and while it's been altered over the years, I still give certain things up. I don't eat bread or things like flour tortillas, though corn tortillas are a staple; tortilla chips, too. I used to give up dairy altogether but realized that was likely detrimental to my health, so I give up cheese, in part because of my lactose intolerance; I really shouldn't eat it anyway. No sweets, no baked goods, no junk food. It was about halfway through Lent when I got sick last year, and I still tried to follow it as best possible, but when you're cooped up at home and your family makes Oncor chicken parmigiana, well, that's dinner and you'll like it. Mom calls it my "starvation diet" even though I certainly still eat plenty. I'm always inviting her to join me but she never does. Nuts, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, all are welcome. This year, she's concerned about my health since I did get sick last year and some symptoms still linger from the second illness. She doesn't get that they're not related to food, and in fact eating healthier might actually improve things, but logic has no bearing with her.
For a long time, I only did the Crazy Lenten Diet, but doing the same thing over and over again sort of loses meaning after a while. I then started adding in other things, and I realized a couple years ago that if I try to do too much, I make myself crazy, so I limit it to three things. This is what I gave up this year:
--I am giving up a particular time-sucking website. (No, I'm not sharing what it is.)
--I am giving up not reading papers. Subset: I am giving up not reading the pile that has built up since last year. (While I wasn't working, I managed to clear through my backlog of papers that, in some cases, went to 2018. In the process, though, I built up a new pile of papers dating to last March, I think. I measured it today: It's 10" high. I've been pretty good about reading through more recent papers, and have found ways to fit that into daily life, but I need to work on getting through that backlog and at least read last March's news. I'm hoping to whittle down the pile by a few inches.)
--I am giving up on not doing projects. I want to spend time each day doing a bit of *some*thing to move certain projects along. Today, I went through 14 pages of scans from my 2004 camp albums, pictures that were never put online. I have other ideas of things to do and sort of want to do something different each day.
--I am giving up not exercising. I mean, I Wii in the morning, but I've not been great at doing my exercises at night. This was something started a number of year ago, and I found that just 15 minutes each evening helps me keep myself in check, but it can also help me sleep. Considering I keep waking up at like 5:30 AM these days, that is a happy thought.
...Okay, I realize those equal four, not three. The middle two are sort of part of one big project category, though, and likely will be done together on most weekdays. I've been pretty good, probably since the beginning of the year, about reading for 30 minutes after I watch the news, so starting about 6 PM. I then want to spend an hour on my particular project du jour. That could be reading old papers; that could be something else. The time can also be fluid, so if I want to spend an hour on papers that day, I'll only need to spend 30 minutes on my project. Whichever works. I just want to be productive. This is where I miss having my time at home like I did last year, because I was able to do a fair amount of stuff, but it is what it is. I still have an extra hour a day in the morning, and I am putting that to some use, which is great--it's when I Wii, and I get to read the paper for up to 20 minutes depending on how quickly I get out of the shower and dressed. (These days, having to put on multiple layers, my paper-reading time hasn't been that long. But every little bit helps.)
Last year's Lenten season forced everyone into austerity, whether they were Catholic or not. Getting sick, and subsequently being homebound while things shut down, altered how I'd normally participate. I am hoping that this year, changes happen during Lent that will allow us to give up the austerity forced upon us. Now that a vaccine exists for an illness that wasn't on our radars as being worthy of complete and total shutdowns at the start of Lent last year, perhaps things will be better. Easter is a rebirth of sorts; it could be a rebirth of a lot of things this year. We'll see what happens come April.
In the meantime, for me, it's the start of the Crazy Lenten Diet. I enjoy food, I eat a lot of it, but I enjoy eating a lot of things that aren't good for me. I started this almost 20 years ago now, and while it's been altered over the years, I still give certain things up. I don't eat bread or things like flour tortillas, though corn tortillas are a staple; tortilla chips, too. I used to give up dairy altogether but realized that was likely detrimental to my health, so I give up cheese, in part because of my lactose intolerance; I really shouldn't eat it anyway. No sweets, no baked goods, no junk food. It was about halfway through Lent when I got sick last year, and I still tried to follow it as best possible, but when you're cooped up at home and your family makes Oncor chicken parmigiana, well, that's dinner and you'll like it. Mom calls it my "starvation diet" even though I certainly still eat plenty. I'm always inviting her to join me but she never does. Nuts, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, all are welcome. This year, she's concerned about my health since I did get sick last year and some symptoms still linger from the second illness. She doesn't get that they're not related to food, and in fact eating healthier might actually improve things, but logic has no bearing with her.
For a long time, I only did the Crazy Lenten Diet, but doing the same thing over and over again sort of loses meaning after a while. I then started adding in other things, and I realized a couple years ago that if I try to do too much, I make myself crazy, so I limit it to three things. This is what I gave up this year:
--I am giving up a particular time-sucking website. (No, I'm not sharing what it is.)
--I am giving up not reading papers. Subset: I am giving up not reading the pile that has built up since last year. (While I wasn't working, I managed to clear through my backlog of papers that, in some cases, went to 2018. In the process, though, I built up a new pile of papers dating to last March, I think. I measured it today: It's 10" high. I've been pretty good about reading through more recent papers, and have found ways to fit that into daily life, but I need to work on getting through that backlog and at least read last March's news. I'm hoping to whittle down the pile by a few inches.)
--I am giving up on not doing projects. I want to spend time each day doing a bit of *some*thing to move certain projects along. Today, I went through 14 pages of scans from my 2004 camp albums, pictures that were never put online. I have other ideas of things to do and sort of want to do something different each day.
--I am giving up not exercising. I mean, I Wii in the morning, but I've not been great at doing my exercises at night. This was something started a number of year ago, and I found that just 15 minutes each evening helps me keep myself in check, but it can also help me sleep. Considering I keep waking up at like 5:30 AM these days, that is a happy thought.
...Okay, I realize those equal four, not three. The middle two are sort of part of one big project category, though, and likely will be done together on most weekdays. I've been pretty good, probably since the beginning of the year, about reading for 30 minutes after I watch the news, so starting about 6 PM. I then want to spend an hour on my particular project du jour. That could be reading old papers; that could be something else. The time can also be fluid, so if I want to spend an hour on papers that day, I'll only need to spend 30 minutes on my project. Whichever works. I just want to be productive. This is where I miss having my time at home like I did last year, because I was able to do a fair amount of stuff, but it is what it is. I still have an extra hour a day in the morning, and I am putting that to some use, which is great--it's when I Wii, and I get to read the paper for up to 20 minutes depending on how quickly I get out of the shower and dressed. (These days, having to put on multiple layers, my paper-reading time hasn't been that long. But every little bit helps.)