Now I know that Lent is sort of like Ramadan-lite, but I've been thinking about how Oli says that all of atheism is based on Roman Catholicism, so I'm suddenly interested in Lent, because as an atheist, I want to make sure I'm getting it right.
So how does this work? I give something up?
If I'm a vegetarian already, I'm guessing that giving up meat won't count, right?
I could give up snickers too, like Nick, I guess. But since I probably only eat 2-4 of them a year, that would really easy.
There is a big school bus strike here in NYC, and instead of taking my daughter to the bus stop every morning, I'm spending an hour and a half round trip to get her to school. And then in the afternoons, she is usually picked up at the bus stop by an assistant teacher in her afterschool program, and escorted to piano class or chess class or whatever. Now I'm leaving work 3 hours early to pick her up, travel back to my neighborhood and take her to afterschool. It is a huge sacrifice. I think giving up bus service is the best I can do at this point. I'm so behind on work, that when I put her to bed, sometimes I'm up working past midnight.
If the bus strike goes on for another month, can I count that?
Do I get to count the past 3 1/2 weeks and get retroactive credit?
And I'm afraid that I did not engage in any Mardi Gras or Carnival celebrations this year. I hope that does not impact on my ability to sacrifice joyfully. I'm wondering. If I had engaged in the proper debauchery, would I be better prepared for the trials ahead? Should I plan to engage next year?
I just want to make sure I do this right.
