Adventures of a (Not So) City Girl

So as I said in my last post, I was raised Catholic and went to Ash Wednesday, a start of a 40 day Lenten period where people give up things as a form of sacrifice and respect for our God and Son. 

Some people gave up certain foods. Others gave up Facebook. Some went in the other direction and decided to give rather than remove and started writing prayer each night. 

What did I decide this year? Coffee.

A few years ago my dad decided he was going to give up coffee for Lent. For those of you who don’t already know, my father is a seasoned Police Officer and has worked late night shifts for the past 26 years. Clearly giving up coffee was going to be a significant challenge for him. He was proved…right. Day 3 hit and he was dry heaving and sweating from caffeine withdrawals. He learned his lesson; he switched to tea.

Not wanted to repeat history I decided to supplement my coffee intake with tea to avoid the physical withdrawal symptoms of caffeine addiction. This doesn’t solve all problems, however.

It has been just over 24 hours into my war against coffee and the psychological aspects of this denial have already started creeping into my thoughts. Why is EVERYONE holding a starbucks cup today? Do people really need to lug around that Box of Joe? Hm, I’m feeling sluggish, what do I do…suck it up? Slap myself in the face a few times? 

The frustration begins. 

As I sit in the campus center at Northeastern and stare at my empty Panera lemonade cup I feel less than satisfied. It isn’t always about the physical effects as I’m quickly learning.

This is my first time around deliberately giving up coffee since I started drinking it. I miss the taste, the amazing smell, and the choices. (oh the plethora of choices that used to be at my disposal).

Boston is taunting me. There are so many coffee shops, restaurants, and dining halls calling my name.

So what is my alternative? Tea. Ya sure it’s great and I have become rather fond of Lipton Orange but there will be an empty spot in my heart for the next 39 days meant for coffee.

I apologize if this post seems rash or overdramatic. It’s the withdrawals talking ;)

~Danielle Lyn 

Why do I say this? It’s simple really.

Growing up we didn’t always go to church on Sundays. We rarely went on the big holidays unless my grandmother guilted us to do so. My dad played basketball on Sunday mornings and we took the phrase “day of rest” to an extreme. I used to go and have been in and out with my church going. 

Despite this flaky dedication to our religion, one thing was guaranteed: We always went to Ash Wednesday. I’m not too sure why. I consider it a kind of “fair-weather” christian response to reassure the public that we do practice our faith, if it is only a little bit during the year. 

But lately, especially within the last year, I have tried to make more of an effort to stay connected. Last year I was a frequent flier to the WNEC weekly mass. It was a time to just reflect on my week and figure out what I wanted to do. It was my hour a week to just relax and think. 

Now I live in Boston. And i’ll be the first person to admit that I still haven’t been all that consistent in my mass attendance. But I did go today, just like the old days. I enjoyed it. I made sure I was there on time and stayed for the entire mass. And I found myself thinking how I wanted to change, how I wanted to live my life the way I saw it in my head. I have ambitions that I always cast off as too big or too time consuming. I preach of being overburdened with work or class assignments but in reality I just don’t use my downtime wisely enough. 

This Ash Wednesday has inspired me to get back on the New Years Resolution bandwagon. The Lenten period has begun and with it change and sacrifice. I want to make my life as a whole better. Some things that I mentioned in my Resolution post have come true, while others have sat on the back burner. 

Every goal deserves to be on the front burner, its all just a matter of when you realize it.

So here’s to a fresh start, although I do already wish I had a coffee in hand (40 days and counting :P ).

~Danielle