My fast

Inevitably during Lent I receive the following question: "A.Hab! You're Catholic. What are you giving up for Lent? Chocolate? Facebook?" I almost always respond with a little smile and say, "I'm a grown-up."

That three-word response always requires a little more illumination, which I will happily provide here. When I say that I am a grown-up, I mean that I am an adult member of my Catholic church. I do not participate in the beliefs of children, nor the rituals of children. Children give up chocolate for Lent so that they can suffer for 40 days and justify eating a giant chocolate rabbit on Easter morning. I used to do that, too. But when I was in high school, an adult Catholic woman redefined "fast" for me in a way that started a new tradition in me. "Fasting" is not only about giving something up for a brief period of time, only to binge on it later. What then has the faster learned? As for myself, any time I gave up an item or food, I only learned that if I just make it to Easter then I can binge on the item I fasted on, and I'd be justified in doing so. I never really got the true point of fasting during Lent.

Now that I'm a grown-up in the Catholic church, I fast from other things and attempt never to break the fast, even after Easter. This year, I'm fasting from my temper and impatience. I will fail in many ways on my attempt during these next 40 days, but my endgame is not to make it until Easter. My endgame is to make this little change in myself over Lent so that by Easter patience is second nature. Next year, I will fast from another negative behavior or trait of mine.

I hope that more people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, will reevaluate their Lenten goals. Why precisely are we giving up chocolate for 40 days? What are we trying to learn about ourselves when we give up a material, a food, or a behavioral pattern? I have learned very little about myself when I gave up chocolate for 40 days (aside from the fact that I love chocolate). Over the past several years, my goal has changed so that I might have a chance to answer these questions.

Unexpected snow day

Yesterday, Feb. 12, we had an unexpectedly appropriate snow day! Our university (where Robert and I teach and are pursuing our advanced degrees) announced at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday that it would close on Friday in anticipation of snow. There were a number of rolling eyes and groans for various reasons--some people thinking the university jumped the gun on closing down, others not taking the snowstorm (and subsequent ice) seriously. Sure enough, for once, our university made the right decision for the right reasons. It snowed heavily from 9:40 a.m. until about 5:30 p.m., and we totaled around 3 inches (according to a measuring tape on our patio table). Below are some of our pictures from our snow day. :)

This is a bench in our backyard. This picture was taken around 1 p.m., when the snow had fallen long enough to cover the ground.

Robert and I had never built a snowman together before (despite the fact that we have, indeed, been together in snowy conditions, including a vacation to Breckenridge a couple Christmases ago). This is our very first snowman, and he is on the hood of my car. Er, was. I smashed him so that we could use that snow for a larger car snowman...but that effort ended in disaster. And a snowball fight. :)

This is our youngest cat, Beatrice, watching as the snow started to fall around 9:30 a.m. It's difficult to see the snowflakes in this picture, but they were there and Bea Bea was captivated by them.

Callie, a couple years older than Bea Bea, wanted to watch too. Her picture was taken around noon, so you can see the snow is starting to accumulate better.

This is our darling naked man, Milton. We didn't keep him out there for long, but he seemed to enjoy himself. His picture was taken around 1 p.m. when the snow finally blanketed our backyard.

Robert and I went to an ecology preserve near our house with some friends, one of whom is an aspiring photographer. She generously gave me this picture to share--it's currently set as my desktop as well. We had such a great day in the rare, beautiful snow! This picture was taken around 2:45 p.m.

We'll be sad to wake up tomorrow to a muddy world, but it is our reality. Our backyard looks a little gross and sludgy, but it'll be warm enough to dry tomorrow afternoon. Robert and I have kept ourselves fairly distracted from the melting snow today--we enjoyed watching some of the first games of the Winter Olympics, and we also played a workout of EA Active for the Wii. So much fun! :) We actually had to turn on the A/C for a few minutes to help us cool off afterward.

All-in-all, I would say that our first married snow day was a great deal of fun! :)

Meet our naked man

Robert and I went out of town this past weekend, and before we left we boarded Milton at his favorite place. When Robert dropped him off, he instructed that Milton should be washed and cut. The girl at the desk said, "Okay. Like last time?" Robert said yes, forgetting that the last time Milton visited the kennel was summertime.

Thus, we have a naked man! (I rather like it, actually. He's so cute! :))

Although you would never guess it from the look on this face, Milton loves his haircut. I think he's more comfortable. The look on his face is because he doesn't like my camera. It scares him. Sweet Mr. Milton. :)