That Thing I Gave Up For Lent.....

Yeah...right! Well, I didn't actually give anything up. Instead, I was given the idea by fellow blogger, Dawn Meehan at BECAUSE I SAID SO to perform a random act of kindness each day of the Lenten season. Okay..okay...okay (remember Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapon movies?) I have been diligent in trying to find kind acts to perform randomly. One can only open so many doors, let in so many cars, keep the mouth zipped while so many someones are flogging you verbally, and answer a call that you know will take 20 minutes when you only have five to spare!

I am so totally thrilled with one act randomly performed last week. This act was a joint venture of five women. I want to share with you the joy I received from one of the venturers in connection with this act.

Okay...okay...okay... Some of you know that I work at a middle school (grades 6,7 & 8). Some of our 8th grade girls were trying out for next fall's freshman cheerleading at the high school they will attend. About 20 or 30 girls signed up for the information meeting two weeks ago. Last week, the high school held a three-day clinic and then tryouts on Thursday. There were certain requirements the girls had to have prior to participating in the clinic and tryouts. One such requirement was a current (one year old) physical.

There were a few girls who had problems with the medical physical. One of those girls is a Voluntary Transfer Student who had a most difficult time getting her physical prior to the clinic. She was allowed to watch the clinic, but could not participate. Several of us at the school hold a special place in our hearts for this student. A couple of phone calls, emails and downright begging helped us get this girl ready for tryouts. We had no idea how she would perform, only that she is a very sweet girl, and if given the right circumstances, would shine as bright as Michael Jackson's glove.

As she left school on the day of tryouts, I wished her well, telling her that no matter what happened, she should just smile and have fun. I opened my school email this morning and found an email from one of our principals, telling me that she had made the squad!! I was so overcome with joy, I could not contain the tears! Okay...okay...okay...I scrambled for the tissue box and finally contained the tears! I thanked God, and then I thanked all of the people who had anything to do with getting her to the tryouts last week.

I just know she is going to be terrific! Okay...okay...okay...I know she will be totally awesome!!

Any Ideas for Lent?

My immediate family is composed of six members. Five of these members are of the Roman Catholic faith and one is of the Dutch Reformed faith. I am the latter. I never had to give up anything at Easter. Quite the contrary, I always got a ton of candy and toys! I grew up thinking that Mardi Gras was just another excuse for having a parade and getting drunk. It never occurred to me that it could be anything else. How can a day of the week be fat? I thought only people and animals were fat!

Since we began raising our children in the Roman Catholic faith,(for which I signed a binding document promising to raise them Catholic in order to have permission to wed in the Catholic church) I tried to set an example by giving something up for Lent every year. A few days ago, Princess Katya asked me what I was giving up this year. I laughed in my best Mike Meyers "muwahhaha" voice and told her that I wasn't Catholic and therefore I didn't have to give up anything! I was a little too pleased with my response.

She looked at me and exclaimed "moooooooommmmmmm!" in her best royal voice, and then left the room in disgust. I felt really guilty. I didn't have to be so pretentious about it. So, I began thinking of what vice or addiction that I have which I could feasibly give up for 40 days without doing harm to myself or my family. I simply could not come up with anything. I have beaten the sugar addition a few million times...no, that would be too easy. Give up TV...are you nuts!! I could stop cooking meals and make everyone "make their own dinner" for the next month or so. No, I already do that at least once or twice a week.

I decided to go read some of my favorite blogs. I came across a wonderful idea for Lent; one in which I wouldn't have to give up anything that I love. As a matter of fact, this idea is something that I love very much, so I really can't honestly say that I will be giving up anything! My blogger friend, Dawn Meehan at BECAUSE I SAID SO made the suggestion to find someone during the day who could be the recipient of a random act of kindness. It could be giving up a parking space, place in line, the last copy of David Cook's new CD that was on the shelf, etc. Do you see what I mean? I just love this idea! It takes very little effort, and once it is done, you can enjoy the great feeling of having made someones day a little brighter.

So, I plan to sneak around and do nice things for people for the next 39 days. Today, I let all of the other secretaries have the leftover donuts from the 8th grade breakfast. I didn't have one! (Normally, I would have been shoving them into my pockets, or disguising them as fruit from the fridge wrapped in paper towels.)
I can't wait to see what opportunities arise tomorrow!

Give it a shot! I think you will be surprised at how good it will make you feel! You may even get giddy and start singing old Motown songs like, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" or "Respect!"