Giving up on Lent

Hi, my name is Megan and I am a recovering Catholic.

One of the last vestiges of my Catholic upbringing is that I feel compelled to acknowledge Lent -- to show some sort of weird solidarity with Jesus and his 40 days of desert solitude (or whatever the hell Lent is about).

On Tuesday, after careful consideration, I decided to give up the f-word for Lent, which began on Wednesday and ends on Easter. I considered this plan ambitious, although Mama (who doesn't even give anything up for Lent!) reminded me that Lent is supposed to be a time of sacrifice, as if doing without the F-word for 40 days is an easy undertaking.

On Friday, after a concerted but unsuccessful effort to curtail my use of the f-word, I decided to give up on Lent entirely. I think it's better this way. I need the f-word for certain situations: dealing with an overall crappy week; having to talk (pleasantly!) for HOURS to a guy who recently graduated from UVA (the University) and claims to have actually read Ulysses (puh-leaze); explaining to a colleague that yes, in fact, students do have a constitutionally protected right not to stand for the pledge of allegiance, and yes, actually I can understand why someone would not want to stand for "our country".

So there you have it. . .I guess I'm going to hell. Fuck.