Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, so we’re officially into Lent. I’ll save everyone a speech on why we have Lent , but I will say that my favorite day of Lent is the Thursday before Easter.

Lent is the time of year when some Christians “give up” something. Typically this ends up being a junk food, a version of “my New Years’ resolution didn’t stick so I’m going to try again for 40 days now.” I usually do that too, but this year I looked for something different, and found it after polling Facebook.

I will take Gawker, Jezebel, and Deadspin off my Google Reader.

This is good in that it will force me to focus at work a little more. But I really enjoy getting a perspective on the news of the day. The sites are part gossip, part current events, part media-criticism (which is my favorite aspect of what they do), and part lefty-whining. When one of my friends had a concern about cervical cancer, I pointed her towards this article which was real, honest, and informative.

The best Lenten promise I’ve ever heard about was in this book, a memoir about a young woman converting from quasi-religious, to Orthodox Judaism, to Episcopalian. One year for Lent she gave up reading. For a bookworm grad student and future author, it was a HUGE sacrifice. And of course in the Mitford books, he gives up driving, but I’ve basically already done that. Maybe one day I’ll be able to give up something I am so attached to.

-Katie*