These 40 days...

As many of you know, Easter is just around the corner. I am reminded of how quickly this has come up because of the start of the Lent season. Every year for Lent I have given up things that I deemed are a sacrifice for me. For those of you unfamiliar with the Catholic faith and the importance of Lent in the Catholic's life, let me give you a short background on Lent.

Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday that we as Catholics take the time to reflect on ways we can become closer to God. I am no expert on the Catholic faith, I was raised Catholic and ever since I can remember, Lent was always about the sacrifice of things that we indulged in- like sweets or cursing ( one of which was a familiar sacrifice as a kid I won't say which one ) . Every year since I was a kid, I have tried to give up something that I knew would be difficult but I knew it was only for 40 days. One year I gave up chewing gum. That was easy for me since that was the year I had braces still. Another year I gave up swearing- I made a jar that I would place  a nickel in every time I said a bad word. Eventually I would pre pay for my bad word, so that was obviously a bust. Note: I have since given up my potty mouth with the occasional bad word slipping out when I drive.

This year is different. When I went home last weekend to M town, I went to mass with my mom. This is the church that I grew up in and was married at so it seemed that my "aha" moment came to me at the right time and place. I realized that this year I would not give up chocolate or Starbuck's, but I would try to do something these 40 days that would be valuable to me. I feel that in my heart, I need to start allowing myself more time to be spiritual. Life needs to be enjoyable and this is step one for my well being.

If there is one thing I want to give to you, it is think about some "me" time and let yourself just go with the moment.