Day 40 - WE MADE IT!

Welp.  Here we are.  Day 40 has come.  And wouldn't you know it?  Today is not Easter Sunday.  No, my friends, we still have a week left.  How the heck could have screwed this up?  Well, I'll tell you.  Apparently, I was lied to as a kid (I highly doubt this was the case).  The other explanation is that I didn't pay enough attention at Sunday School.  Come to find out, during the season of Lent, Sunday is not counted.  Sundays during Lent are supposed to be celebrated like mini-Easters, so they do not count towards the 40 day total.  Also, Lent officially ends on Holy Thursday - the Thursday before Easter. 

As a kid, though, we were taught that Lent was 40 days, and you had to "give something up" until Easter Sunday.  We usually gave up gum, or candy, or something like that, so when Easter morning would come, which ever sweet thing we had been "deprived" of for, what we thought, was 40 days, we would over indulge.  This would usually result in a stomach ache, but it was so worth it.  I never thought to sit down and actually count the number of days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.  Here I am at 26 years old, and I just now learning all of this.  Amazing.

Which brings us to today, Day 40, and my conundrum.  I had vowed to write 40 blogs in 40 days.  It ended up being 41 blogs in 41 days because I started with an Intro.  On paper, I have accomplished what I set out to do.  However, today is not Easter.  And I vowed to blog throughout Lent.  So what do I do now?  Coming up with things to write about is incredibly challenging.  I don't want to bore people.  I want to write about things that are interesting.  I want people to keep reading and keep talking.  I refuse to continue writing just to say that I wrote something.  It's not worth the effort on my part.  And it would not be worth your time to read this.

So with that being said, I am now trying to figure out this pickle.  I think I will chalk the last 40 days up as a HUGE success.  I challenged myself to commit to 40 days of blogging, and that, my friends, has been accomplished.  So now, anything above and beyond that, is over achievement in my book.  And speaking of book, I have decided to take these blogs and publish them into a hard cover book.  A keepsake from the last 40+ days.  I am hoping to do this every year now, and see how things have changed over time.  Kinda cool, right?  So anyways, 40 days have come and gone, and I am looking forward to the break.  I will certainly continue to share my opinion with you, if you will continue reading!  I'm in if you are :)

Day 39 - I hope they serve wine in heaven

Have you ever noticed how alcohol is used in so many aspects of life?  Think about it.  If you have had a crummy day at work, chances are the thought of "man, today sucked.  I just want to go home and have a beer" has certainly crossed your mind.  Sometimes after a bad day, you want to go for a run or punch a punching bag.  But the other times, if you have had a bad day, you just want to go home and drink the pain away.  There are movies about it.  There are books about it.  There are songs about it. One of my favorite lines from a song: "Is it a whiskey night?  Or just a couple beers?" (Chris Cagle, What Kind of Gone?)

But having a nice cold one isn't only used to attempt to erase a bad day.  Alcohol can be used to celebrate!   If you have had an amazing day at work (i.e. finished a big project, a promotion, a day without fire drills), then chances are, you want to go home and have a night cap.  A celebratory drink.  Engagements - toast with champagne!  Weddings - another toast with champagne, followed by several mixed drinks, and of course shots.  Birthdays.  Holidays (like a shot of crown royal at the Giovannetti Christmas party).

There is one aspect of drinking though that doesn't care if you are celebrating or erasing - and that's the hangover!!  I laugh with my friends at work all the time that we are getting "old."  We know this because the length of time it takes to recover from a night out has started to increase.  In college, I would have a headache for a few hours, but after some Panera soup or a McDonald's breakfast, I was ready to go.  Then after school, it would maybe take two meals and an extra Gatorade to shake it.  But now?  Looking at alcohol makes me hung over.  Seriously, I could have some wine with dinner and be hung over for two days.  And I mean completely worthless!!  What has happened??  We are really starting to show our age, and it sucks.  On Monday, we'll usually check in with one another to see who is still feeling the effects of Saturday night and who has recovered.  We are definitely starting to feel the effects for longer and it sucks.\

But even with the guaranteed hangover, I do love me some wine.  A big Italian dinner and an even bigger glass of Merlot and you have one happy camper on your hands.  I'd take a glass of wine over a mixed drink any day.  Maybe that's because I had some rough mornings in college after a few too many vodka-Sprites.  Maybe it's because I have learned to limit my wine intake (some times) to avoid that hangover in the morning.  Whatever the case is, I sure hope when I get to those pearly gates, someone is meeting me on the other side with a nice big glass of wine, and a smile.  Fingers crossed.