(An Experiment in Suffering
--at least for one Catholic)
Well, I survived about a week and half of the Lenten Journey. It all starts with Ash Wednesday, and ends with Easter. Lent? What’s Lent? Well, it something that us Catholics suffer thru with our HUGE load of guilt in tote for 40 days every year. Most times we decide to give up something; and some of us are successful, and some not . Those that are not too successful we end up putting change in a paper bowl to help ease some of that terrible guilt. Not all of us give something up either. Some will donate their time to charities or be more thoughtful to their fellow man in some form. But I like to think of it as being a cleansing period, and through that cleansing being conscious of myself and my relationship with God.
This year I decided to give up the 3 C’s. I know what you’re thinking; the three C’s? What are the three C’s? And before your imagination has been all sorts of worked up and you have checked out the C section of the Webster, let me answer that question. The 3 C’s that I’m talking about are--- Coffee, Chocolate, and Caffeine. Not an easy task for someone like me who drinks almost a whole pot of coffee a day. I LOVE the smell, the taste, and just in general feel that nothing can compete with a good cup of Joe after a nice dinner. Believe me it’s not something easy to give up. The chocolate is easier for me to give up, and the caffeine, well, that’s just so I don’t substitute something else for the coffee with another caffeinated beverage which feels like cheating to me.
DAY 1---
I feel as though I’m sleepwalking. In fact, I can’t remember most of the day; other than it did pass. Somehow, I managed to get to work, and thru the rest of my day. I just can’t remember how. But in the process I think I figured out what they did to all those extras that worked on the set of “The Night of the Living Dead”. They obviously denied them access to caffeine 8 hours before they came on the set. How else could they have gotten those sluggish vacant looks? So at the end of the day, I look like the living dead with a huge ashes cross on my forehead after leaving the Ash Wednesday Mass.
DAY 2 ---
I’m dragging BIG TIME! It’s like I’m moving in slow motion and everyone is on regular time. Try as I may I just can’t catch up, and I keep on yawning and yawning. I really am starting to question why I did this, and my sanity for that matter, too! Am I a little bit masochistic? I definitely avoided using any freeway or faster traffic routes in my car. I actually wanted to go to bed at 8PM; haven’t done that since I was 11 years old when that was my bedtime.
DAY 3 ---
BIG YAWN!! I just can’t seem to stop yawning, and I’m not sure if my mental processing is working. I’m still dragging but not in as much slow motion as yesterday. Oh, did I mention I feel like I’m always starving. I also gave up snacking between meals. Oh, and today is Fish Friday. So I got to watch fellow workers devour big juicy hamburgers while I ate my tuna fish sandwich. This is past fun; it’s the thrill of the challenge or something like that. I also had to run to the grocery store to purchase some herbal tea. Why are most of them fruits? Can we please make them more interesting than just fruits, please?
DAY 4---
HUGE headache!!!!!! Ouch! And double ouch! I was wondering when this would hit or maybe it was there all along and I was so dazed and sleepy that I didn’t notice it. I opted to go for a bike ride hoping the endorphins from exercising will make all of the difference. Well, it did for about an hour and a half or so then they wore off and I found myself dehydrated and with a headache. Kind of like a hangover only without the fun of drinking.
DAY 5---
I’m still yawning quite a bit, and really having issues with trying to wake up and get going in the morning. I made it church WAY later than normal. No practicing the songs before Mass for me. Thank God for captive audiences!
DAY 6 – 10---
I’m getting better at not yawning, and I think that my mental processes seem to be back but the days seem to be dragging still a little. I managed to catch a Spin class at the fitness center, and for some reason the rest of the night I felt like I was on overdrive! Strange. Oh, and did I happen to mention it seems like everywhere I go they are offering me chocolate. I feel like it’s a conspiracy!
DAY 11--- Skip the Saturday early morning Spin class, all I want to do is SLEEP in. I do till almost 10AM which is unusual for me. Most mornings I’m lucky to sleep past 8AM. I’m getting ready to go on a yurt excursion, and trying to figure out to make my backpack light as possible. Just when I get it all packed I notice that I forgot something. This is the fourth time this has happened to me; maybe my mental abilities aren’t back yet?
Day 12---
Thank the Lord that Jean VanD texted me this morning, or I would have missed church completely with the “Spring Ahead” time change. Day Light Savings---talk about an experiment in masochism or I guess i Should more aptly say is," Who was the sadistic person to come up with it! But I will say that I feel the most normal ( give me some latitude here on this ) today that I have felt since the night before Ash Wednesday.
Now I only have 5 more weeks of this Lenten Journey left. Well, it should be a piece of cake, but I’ll keep you posted.
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