Laptops & Lent

My laptop crashed. Totally died. I went to boot up a few weeks ago and nothin. That partly explains why I haven't blogged in a while.

It also explains why my house has been cleaner the last few weeks than it usually is...interesting how that works.

I've been crazy busy at work. Not just busy but CRAZY busy. That's were you don't get to pee for about two hours because you literally have so much to do that you don't want to step away. I should seriously consider putting bodily functions as a priority on my list...

Bathroom breaks aren't the only challenges I've been experiencing. I gave up soda for Lent.  Way harder than I thought it would be.  I am so struggling. And it doesn't help that the other day, in a particular moment of weakness, hubby encouraged me to go ahead and have one. In response to my resistance, he grabbed a coke from the fridge and slowly popped it open. Right in front of me. The cruelty!

And I swear, that boy has been drinking soda now than he ever has.  I think just because he knows I can't have any...or maybe it's just my heightened awareness. I promise you, I can hear him open the can from across the house. Yep, this addiction is no joke. Can you say highly addictive personality?  Thank goodness I never got into smoking or anything worse - there would be no hope for me.

So it's been hard.

And that's the entire point.  I really do believe it's meant to be tough. On Fat Tuesday I was explaining Lenten season to the girls and I stressed that you have to give up something difficult or something meaningful. And when it gets tough, you think about how God sacrificed his only son, how Jesus sacrificed his life. Giving up a soda, well, suddenly it doesn't seem like so much.

I was really touched because M asked me what I was giving up and when I told her she said she would give up soda too. Well, we don't really let her drink soda.

Isn't that so hypocritical? I've always sucking down a pop but I rarely let them drink it.

So then M thought for a minute, realizing it wasn't much of a sacrifice, and decided that she would also give up candy.  She doesn't get that too often either but she loves candy, so that was a big deal. And I really didn't expect her to participate, I was just trying to educate them. Her heart is amazing.

Both their hearts, really but M2 is still a little too young to understand. After watching big sister, she volunteered to give up her beloved blanket. This has been her nightly companion since she was brought home from the hospital. It is her most cherished possession.

Within two seconds of offering it up, she realized what that would mean and quickly changed her mind. She was, however, willing to sacrificed her pillow. She has a multitude of pillows on her bed - a Stuffie, a Pillow Pet, a mini Pillow Pet and a ginormous Hello Kitty body pillow.  I ran through each pillow - nope, nope, nope. The girl was adamant that she give up her regular pillow...which she has slept on every night since Fat Tuesday.

So M are in this together, keeping each other in check. And counting down the days until Easter!