Goodbye, chocolate
I'm giving up chocolate for Lent.
(And this before I've even had a chance to try Starbucks' new tasty treat.)
I know, I'm not exactly what you would call a "devout Catholic." I've only been to Mass once since Christmas. I'm pretty OK with premarital sex. I think the "rhythm method" of birth control is a joke. I don't think gay marriage is a threat to my values or my faith.
But there's something about religion that I just can't let go. I think it has something to do with tradition. Sitting in church, even if I'm all alone in the pew, makes me feel like I'm surrounded by family. Uttering the mealtime blessing takes me immediately to the family dinner table when I was a kid, where everyone laughed and talked about their day. Muttering through the notes of an old, favorite hymn, I can almost hear my dad, his deep baritone echoing behind me, and my mother, her rich alto at my side.
Being connected to my religion makes me feel connected to my family. And what could make me feel more connected to faith than to observe--really observe--the solemn season of Lent?
In a way, this is also an opportunity for me to practice some much needed self-control. The past few months, I've felt a bit out of control--not just in my diet, but in work, in my personal life. And the less I feel I have control of around me, the more I just want to crawl into bed and hide beneath the covers. In a way, I feel like denying myself something I love so much, something I crave desperately, I can get a bit of that control back.
So for the next 40 days, it's bye-bye brownies (especially the yummy looking ones my roommate just received in the mail). So long, Nestle candy hidden strategically around the office. Sayonara, morning cocoa; ta-ta, mocha coffee; adieu, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, and M&Ms. Good grief, when you really start to count up all the different forms of chocolate I eat on a regular basis, it's a wonder I am not 300 pounds.
Help me stay strong, friends. It's going to be a long time 'til Easter.
(And this before I've even had a chance to try Starbucks' new tasty treat.)
I know, I'm not exactly what you would call a "devout Catholic." I've only been to Mass once since Christmas. I'm pretty OK with premarital sex. I think the "rhythm method" of birth control is a joke. I don't think gay marriage is a threat to my values or my faith.
But there's something about religion that I just can't let go. I think it has something to do with tradition. Sitting in church, even if I'm all alone in the pew, makes me feel like I'm surrounded by family. Uttering the mealtime blessing takes me immediately to the family dinner table when I was a kid, where everyone laughed and talked about their day. Muttering through the notes of an old, favorite hymn, I can almost hear my dad, his deep baritone echoing behind me, and my mother, her rich alto at my side.
Being connected to my religion makes me feel connected to my family. And what could make me feel more connected to faith than to observe--really observe--the solemn season of Lent?
In a way, this is also an opportunity for me to practice some much needed self-control. The past few months, I've felt a bit out of control--not just in my diet, but in work, in my personal life. And the less I feel I have control of around me, the more I just want to crawl into bed and hide beneath the covers. In a way, I feel like denying myself something I love so much, something I crave desperately, I can get a bit of that control back.
So for the next 40 days, it's bye-bye brownies (especially the yummy looking ones my roommate just received in the mail). So long, Nestle candy hidden strategically around the office. Sayonara, morning cocoa; ta-ta, mocha coffee; adieu, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, and M&Ms. Good grief, when you really start to count up all the different forms of chocolate I eat on a regular basis, it's a wonder I am not 300 pounds.
Help me stay strong, friends. It's going to be a long time 'til Easter.
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