7 Quick Takes Friday Part IX - Lenten version

1. A story a friend told me on Wednesday: She had grown up going to a school where most kids were Protestant. At around 12 or 13, she went to the dermatologist for the first time, because of some acne problems she was having. She couldn't figure out what the heck kind of weird skin disease all the people there had, having no idea that it was Ash Wednesday or what that meant.

2. I was planning a post about all the things I'm doing for Lent, all the ways I'm hoping to be commited to prayer, fasting, and charity. Until, of course, I went to church on Ash Wednesday. The Gospel cured me of that plan. Not that it won't come up in conversation over the course of the next 40 days; I've already had one dream about eating M&Ms.

3. I'm having a really difficult time so far this Lent. Unreptant sinners usually do, I'd imagine.

4. I feel like ashes play a much different role here in DC than they do in NY. In NY, everyone gets ashes. Okay, maybe not everyone, but in NY, when the majority of Catholics are walking around with ashes, it's lot. In DC, when the majority of Catholics are walking around with ashes, it's not that many people. Ashes are just sort of part of the picture on Ash Wednesday in NY, whereas here, I think they call a lot of attention to individuals, but they also encourage a sort of camraderie between Catholics. After going to Mass at noon, I came back to work with my ashes, and had one woman - to whom I'd never spoken before - exclaim, excited, "Oh! You're Catholic, too!"

5. I finally went to the eye doctor when I visited home last weekend. My prescription had changed from -4.25 to -5.00, which is a pretty big jump. The thing is, I'm pretty sure that change happend last March. I've been walking around with very poor vision for close to a year. Actually being able to see things makes me feel like it's springtime and all is new in the world. There are cars a block down, and I don't have to squint in class; just being able to see fills me with such joy sometimes. I almost feel like I should have held off on the new prescription until Easter, when such feelings would have been more appropriate, but I'm not willing to make quite that much of a sacrifice this Lent.

6. I was crocheting on the bus the other day, and the man who sat next to me said, "Can you make me a hat?" I told him that I could not, that hats are too complicated for me. He asked if I could make him a scarf, and I told him I had lots and lots of people on my list to make scarves for. He said he didn't mind waiting. And you know, I don't mind making scarves for people. So I told him I'd do it, and I think I actually might. I hope I do. There's nothing wrong with devoting a little time and energy to a stranger. He wrote down his phone number for me.

7. Being the end of the month, I'm realizing that there's nothing like filling out time sheets at work to make you realize just how unproductive you really are. I'm trying to buckle down and do a lot of work this afternoon to boost my stats.