Here Comes Lent, Guys! or My 46-Day Challenge

Lent is one of those things that I've always really liked the idea of doing, but never have. I've known other people, usually not Catholics, who have decided to observe Lent in their own way to help them become closer to God and better people. I seriously love that idea. So this year, I'm finally doing it.

I've been mulling over what I want my Lent to be like for several weeks now. I knew immediately that I wanted to give up chocolate¹ for Lent and set myself a reading goal from the scriptures. I was thinking maybe the four Gospels or half of the Book of Mormon or something like that, but a couple days ago it hit me -- I know what I need to read for Lent. I'm reading the Book of Mormon. Not half of it. All of it.

I'll bet I know what you're thinking, and unless it's positive, I don't think I want to hear it. I'm kinda freaked out at the idea myself right now, but I know it's what I need to do. I've been feeling like I need to get myself mentally back on track for awhile now, and this feels like the right thing to do to get me there. I'm planning to set aside pretty much all other reading and focus on this and this alone, plowing through it like I do with novels. If I do that I have no doubt that I can do this. It will require sacrifice and time and motivation -- but that's the point.

So here's the real question -- will anyone commit to do it with me? Will you start next Wednesday (the 17th) and end by Easter? I'll be posting about my progress and thoughts, so we could probably have some good discussion in the comments.

Oh, and you should know -- Sundays are feast days², so no chocolate restriction for those. I'll keep reading on Sundays, though. That would be a bit backward if I didn't, I think.

1I've toyed with the idea of giving up all sweets, but I'm not sure I could handle that one. I'm still thiking about it, though.

2At least that's what it says on Wikipedia, that fountain of religious knowledge.

Charlie, My Minivan, and A Lack of Arms

I've been thinking about an experience I had the other day. It's been refusing to leave my brain, so I'm going to inflict you with it. Sorry in advance.

Yesterday morning I was going over to my friend Letia's for some me time and quilting¹. It was kinda cold and definitely rainy, so my minivan's tired wanted to slide every time I wasn't totally gentle with the brakes². I parked in front of her apartment and got all of my stuff out of the car to carry in. As I did I noticed a guy walking down the middle of the street, looking a bit confused, pulling a bag-on-wheels³ behind him. He asked if he could use my phone, so I let him. He was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and jeans, smelled like cigarette smoke, and was very polite. As he talked to his friend on the phone it became apparent that he was lost and very far from where he was supposed to be. I couldn't help but think how awful that would be, since he'd be walking with his bag through the rain and apparently had been for quite a while already. He hung up and thanked me, handing back my phone.

"Sounds like you've got a ways to go," I said.

"Yeah."

And suddenly I knew I had to offer. "Would you like a ride?"

He looked pretty surprised. I was kinda surprised, too, to be honest. I didn't think I was going to do that until I did. It was one of those things where you suddenly know you need to help. Does that make sense? I had a really strong feeling about helping him, so I flew with it⁴.

I called Justin to let him know what I was doing, shook hands with Charlie, and put his bag in the back. I unlocked his door and he opened it, just standing there for a second. He kind of patted himself down. "I don't have a gun or anything," he said, looking nervous.

I couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry," I said. "I've decided to trust you."

After that he got in and started thanking me profusely. He asked if he could turn on the heater, then offered to fill up my gas tank, explaining that he didn't have any cash to offer but he had his debit card. I told him not to worry about it. He asked if there was anything at the store I needed that he could get for me. I told him it was fine. Finally he sat back and we started talking. Almost immediately the topic landed on religion. I cleared up some stereotypes for him about the LDS Church. We had a good discussion about acceptance of people regardless of belief and respect for the agency of others to use their reason and figure out for themselves what they felt was true. It was a really good talk.

I dropped him off where he needed to go⁵, we shook hands again, he thanked me, and I drove back to Letia's.

Now here's what I can't get out of my head: I know most people would not have offered to give him a ride. Most people would have cited something about how potentially dangerous the situation was as the reason for not even entertaining the idea of giving this guy a ride. But think about it -- people used to hitchhike all the time, and while bad things happened, they were few and far between⁶. Most people in the world are good people. The risk is actually quite low, though it seems inflated because things like that get over-reported in the news and they stick in our heads.

And here's where I hope I won't lose most of the people still siding with me: don't we have an obligation to our fellow human beings to provide what service we can? Are we not obligated by religion to offer help, sustenance, and succor to those who are in need? I think we are, and I think this situation qualifies. Christ did not exhort us to help others only when convenient. There was no clause about only helping as long as it's risk-free.

I like to think that that act of kindness and the discussion we had helped change something for Charlie in a good way. I think it did for me.

1Woo hoo!

2I'm starting to seriously hate cars. There's always something wrong with them. Always.

3For some reason this phrase makes me think of fast food. What does Burger King call kid's meals? Something with wheels in it? Maybe I'm just thinking of Meals On Wheels. Whatever.

4As I'm apt to do. Great things can happen on the spur of the moment, you know.

5Which was a couple of miles from where we started.

6As far as I know.

My Energy Problem or My Secret Identity -- Mel, Actual Human Being!

First, go read this.

That stuff is so true. Things like showering and running errands and just getting out of the house are so hard with kids. I think of all these fun things I could do, but it just doesn't feel worth the effort most of the time. I mean, by the time I've got the stroller out and muscled through our lousy screen door and I've got the kids fed, into clean diapers, wrapped up in warm clothes, and not screaming, I'm exhausted.¹

I love my kids. I love having a place to live and food in my house and a husband who brings home money. Bu what I really want and need on top of these things is ENERGY! And I don't have any. I spend all day dozing off and feeling terrible. Every day. I've pinpointed a couple probable culprits for my constant lethargy.

First, I never get good sleep. Big surprise, right? I mean, I've got little kids, one of whom is a tiny baby. I don't see myself fixing this one anytime soon.

Second, I don't get enough sleep. This is extremely different from the first thing. I'm one of those cursed people who has always needed about ten hours a night to feel like a functional human being, and that's just not going to happen.²

Third, I don't eat enough.³ I kind of counted calories yesterday for the first time ever, and I didn't even eat enough for someone who's not nursing. I think this is the biggest culprit. I've just gotten used to being hungry. I think of it as normal. Because that list I linked to up there missed one -- eating. Yeah, she says eating warm food. I don't even get that far most of the time. It feels like too much effort to prepare anything to eat in the first place. I get up just long enough to make Atticus a sandwich or some cereal a lot of the time. And I don't even have to do that much work to feed Esme, thankfully.

I'm a mess!

First, I'm going to eat more. Fruits and veggies if I can pull it off. Second, I'm going to use the energy it gives me to get more exercise, which should also help. Wish me luck! Let me know if you have suggestions.

1Let's be honest: being exhausted is not something that only sets in after doing all those other things. I'm exhausted just sitting here.

2I have too many other things to do after Atticus goes to bed. I'm like the swan princess -- after he's in bed I morph from Strung Out Mom into Mel, Actual Human Being. I need to keep that or I'll go crazy.

3Justin's been saying this for years and I'm just now starting to really believe him. Go figure.

All about Esme

So my birthday was awesome! I slept in some, helped Justin clean up some,¹ and had friends over for cake, ice cream, and chatting. I'm now officially mid twenties. Like, exactly.

Some of you haven't seen me in a very long time and haven't met Esme.² For her real name, go check Facebook or e-mail me. 

She actually has two middle names -- one I picked and one that was traditional in Justin's family.³ Her second middle name is Marie.

She was born with that hair, believe it or not. It was 1 3/4 inches at birth, and this picture was taken that same day.

 

She was born with those gorgeous gray eyes, too, though they're hard to see well in pictures. We're crossing our fingers that they won't change. No naysaying, please -- I hear enough of it from perfect strangers. If I want to be hopeful, I can.

She's got the best smile ever, as I'm sure you can see.⁴ She's also been holding her head up since two months and standing from about the same time.⁵ She's actually a really easy, cheerful baby. I'm so glad! She also commonly sleeps for 6 hours or more at night -- something Atticus never did. I worry sometimes that I make her sound so much better than him, but she really is a much easier baby. I loved him lots, too, though.⁶

In other good news, I've joined the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. I'm really excited to finally meet other quilters in the area! Plus, Elizabeth from Oh, Frannson! is in it! Could this possibly get better? Yes. If there were free fabric involved it would be better.

And on the quilting note, I'm submitting Esme's quilt to a quilt show in March. It's going to be in Milwaukie and I'm pretty excited.⁷ I expect everyone who lives near here to go see it. Call me and I'll come with you!

Oh, and one more thing. For those of you who have been in suspense over the root canal I mentioned, it went fine. So did the fillings I got today. My face is still half numb, though, so it's a good thing for me that you all can't see me. Just imagine that picture in the top left there. There you go. That's what I look like.

1And had a mini-fight. No birthday is complete without getting angry at your spouse and then making up.

2I know it's important to be able to pronounce what you're reading even if it's in your head, and I know some of you probably don't know how to pronounce Esme. (I'm not talking to you, Nordquists.) It's ehz-may. If I were going to be super precise I would've used the accent mark, but here in America that would have been a curse. It's just a middle name, anyway.

3The compromise was that mine got to go first.

4Though you could say it's a bit drooly.

5With us helping in the balance department, of course. She's not THAT advanced.

6And still do. Quit worrying.

7And nervous. I'm not the best quilter and I think the quilting part looks terrible because my machine tension was flipping out. I'm secretly terrified that everyone will notice and think I'm a disgrace to quilters everywhere! I'll be shamed for life! Ahhhh! But I'm still submitting it.

Divine Buddha Soup In Best Broth! or Justin Amuses Woman With Umbrella

I don't have any pictures today, but that's probably for the best. I have a lot of ground to cover.

Yesterday I went to choir practice after church and it was awesome! It felt good to do something, to be a part of something, just because I wanted to. I realized that I just don't have enough things to do outside of Balloons Made Art and the kids. It was slowly driving me insane. Now that I'm quilting again and am in the choir at church I'm starting to feel a little more like a person with a purpose. The kids are a purpose, I know, but not one where I always feel very motivated or appreciated. You who have kids know what I mean here.

Today Justin took me out on a date for my birthday.¹ First we went to this Dim Sum place on Sandy. What we got was really good for the most part, but we didn't get the chicken feet on broccoli or the duck liver pudding or whatever. Sadly, we also passed on the Divine Buddha Soup In Best Broth², but that may have been a mistake. We decided not to eat the really large fish in the tank next to the crabs, either. It looked lethargic.

After that we went over to Powell's for some sweet browsing. We nearly bought a calendar featuring Australia for two dollars but then thought better of it. We discovered that David Farland³ sometimes has the same illustrator as Robert Jordan.⁴ The most exciting thing that happened was when we were fighting over who got to put the next nickel into the meter and Justin scrambled around me, slipped, and fell on his butt. In the rain. The lady walking by laughed at us.⁵

My sister watched the kids for us, which was super nice -- thanks, Xandie!⁶ We had a really good time. Now I just have a root canal to look forward to in the morning.

1Which is a little later this week, not today.

2Don't quote me -- it was called something amazing like that.

3Read: Dave Wolverton.

4And all of these covers look hokey.

5Like she's never done that. Okay, maybe she hasn't.

6I'm using your real name because a) you're an adult, and b) you hate your middle name and probably don't want me sharing it with the world.