Lent

So, I think Lent is crazy. If you wanted to give something up to one-up your flesh or whatever (still not sure I understand Lent, truth be told) then you should do it at any time. Like I decided caffeine was bad for me, and stopped taking it. Done and done. My sister gave up gluten for Lent last year, my best friend went off Chipotle, and last year I gave up nothing. This year, for some reason, I got sucked into the whole Lenten celebration (oops, Lent is supposed to be sad), and have given up... cheese.

Why cheese? Well, as I was explaining to someone the other day, I don't have a lot of vices to speak of. I don't spend a lot of money using a bank card of any sort (someone suggested that I use only cash during Lent). I don't drink or smoke, I don't drink coffee or any such habitual drink (no caffeine, remember?). I can't give up "worldly music" because they play it at work, and I don't think I could convince them to not turn on the radio for the next month and a half. If I didn't hold a job, it would make sense for me to not read fiction during Lent, but truth be told, I rarely get time to read these days, so it wouldn't feel like I was actually giving something up. Ditto movies, I don't even have time to watch them, nor the inclination, nor the ability. So that left me with... cheese.

But again, why cheese? Well, in my family, cheese is a big deal. Not that we gather round and give thanks to the brilliant men who first figured out how to make cheese delicious, but rather that we eat it a lot. Eggs, casseroles, spaghetti, macaroni, quesadillas, pretty much everything we make in a jiffy has cheese involved. Meals without cheese take more time, because they require actual planning involving flavour not derived from cheese.

So fare thee well, cheese, I shall devour thee once again come Easter.

Oh, the best part of Lent this year? My two best friends are giving up pop and going out to eat, respectively. I think we'll all be a little worse for the wear by the time it's all over. Huzzah to strength in numbers!