The approach of spring

Nathan and I were out at Buffalo Wild Wings tonight sitting underneath a giant television showing the Blackhawks/Sharks game, like about five of their other televisions.  I don't remember what was on any of the others.  But there was one TV at the back of the restaurant that I could see over Nathan's shoulder and what was playing on that particular set made me giddy.

It was an exhibition White Sox game.  The long dark winter is almost over.  Spring is almost here.  Thank God for baseball.

Resolutions

I didn't really notice when it happened.  Sometime in the last couple years my perspective on Lent changed.  Suddenly I wasn't thinking in terms of "What am I going to give up for Lent."  My new mantra was "What am I going to do for Lent."  It's probably because I got tired of nominally giving up pop and then not really having much success with it.

But I think this it also has something to do with growing up.  The thought of giving something up for Lent is just right for children, I think, because it gets the idea across that Lent is a time of self-denial.  I'm not sure the little ones understand that it's also a time of self-revision.

Lent is the perfect time to think about ourselves objectively and work on those imperfections we find.  The older I get the more I think about the Lenten season as a time for self-reflection and revision.  There is the thought of "What do I need to do to become more Christ-like in my life?"

Therefore, my Lenten resolutions this year are:

• work on giving up the casual swearing, which has gotten much worse since I started working as a dispatcher. 
• become less judgmental of people in general
• try to eliminate some of the parts of my sense of humor which are particularly mean
• stop gossiping

Birthday extravaganza--Spring edition

Have you ever noticed how birthdays and other special days tend to group themselves together within families?  For example, in my own family there are five birthdays at the end of the year: Anne-October 8; Daddy-October 15; Eric-October 30; Elizabeth-November 24; and Nate-December 19.

That doesn't even include Mom and Dad's anniversary in September, our anniversary in late October, Nate's anniversary in early October, aunt and uncle's birthdays of which there are at least 3 in October alone, cousin's birthdays: I can count 2 in October off the top of my head, and Eric and Elizabeth's anniversary in mid-December.

According to Mom this means October is closed.  We are no longer allowed to add birthdays or other "special event days" in October.

I'm finding that this crosses family lines as well.  I think the last week of February to the second week of March are almost as action packed as any three-week period in October for Nathan and I.  Our niece Sophie just celebrated her first birthday February 25, Craig's birthday follows quickly on the 27th, then comes my mother's on March 1 and finally Nathan's on March 9.  (Side note: be gentle with Nathan on his birthday this year, he's turning 30.)

And those three weeks are about to get more involved: my brother's wife is due to have their baby any day now.  She's due March 16, but I don't think she's going to make it that far.