Except, fasting mostly makes me wonder how people who are don't have enough to eat function day in and day out. And it makes me ponder whether the tingly feeling in my fingers and toes is hunger or just like some leftover frostbite from living in Vermont all those years.
Luckily just in case I can't really think up all my sins for the year right on the spot like that, some of the sins are listed out in the prayerbook so I can remember what to ask forgiveness for. I follow along and think about my sins.
The list sort of follows a formula: "We have sinned against you by this and we have sinned against you by that..." And there are a LOT of sins. And during services I say the words while thinking things like, "Yep. I did that this year." and "Yeah, I probably did that sin too." and sometimes even, "I don't strictly remember sinning that way this year, but y'know...it's been a long year. Maybe I just don't remember."
So this year I'm following along and then I read out, "We have sinned against you by irreverence..." and I was like, "Uh oh! I think I'm the QUEEN of that sin." And so that's why I didn't use the word "Antichrist" in the title of this post. Because the point is to try and do better this year.
No seriously folks, I have really have one additional true resolution for this year (besides being less irreverent) and that is to argue less with my gal. Surviving the gal's teenagerhood isn't enough for me. I want to survive AND still be speaking to each other by the time she reaches that magical age called "the end of teenagerhood". I think that's around age 40. Maybe 37 for a lucky few.
Look! How can I be SO proud and yet so exasperated by one little gal all at the same time?!?!?!
In other news, I've been skyping with my gal's good for nothing cat. But that's probably a post all unto itself.
7 comments:
I can attest that 37 is not the end of teenager-hood. I'm hoping 38 is.
Oh, I can verify that life will not improve for you until you are completely thru the teenage years. Ours is 16, a senior in HS, and I may not survive the remainder of the school year. I've turned into some crazed version of myself that I don't recognize or even like very much. Of course, I love her to pieces and know (hope?) this is only a temporary thing!
That is SO SCARY about Nimue! I'm glad he is safe now. Can't wait to see that post!
"Look! How can I be SO proud and yet so exasperated by one little gal all at the same time?!?!?!"
Because you're a mother !! :-D
I would not survive Yom Kippur. I get low blood sugar. But I am truly sorry...especially for irreverence!!
Now I'm going to look thick but...why the Ben F reference???? is it an American thing?
A Free Man - I think it just ***might*** be possible to exit teenagerhood and retain some of the more playful qualities. Not that I don't do so myself a lot of the time, but you're selling yourself short! After all, the lives of two small humans are thriving in your hands. You must not be too all out immature!
Janet - "I've turned into some crazed version of myself that I don't recognize or even like very much." Yeah, what's up with that?!?! :-0 Yeah, the cat thing was scary. I wrote a post but I had just barely put this one up so I haven't posted it yet.
Arizaphale - I think I get the low blood sugar thing too. Last year I felt sick for like two or three days after it ended, and I almost decided against it this year. But I just cheated a little bit with a cup of coffee. On Ben Franklin - my understanding is that he was known for making lists of ways to improve himself & continually trying to do so. So that whole self improvement theme tied right in to Yom Kippur I thought. :-)
Ah hah! All is revealed. When I was an Anglican in a High Anglican Church (all the bells and smells) we were encouraged to go to Confession! They had a list of sins we were supposed to go through and tick off and tell the priest about....I only went once. When I finished my list (gluttony, pride, blasphemy) he gently pointed out that I had forgotten something! Apparently my mother had informed him that I was moving in with my boyfriend. I chose not to confess that even after the prompt....as far as I could see defacto relationships were not in the list of sins. Lots of gluttony though....oh yeah....
Arizaphale - Funny! Yeah one of younger gal's very first comments was "You still aren't supposed to be living together though!" Honestly, can't it be like a sin once removed or something? I have a ring!
Thanks Karim. I think.
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