The Lenten Review!

It's the first week of the Easter Season! This is when I mentally sit down with myself and take a good honest look at how Lent went this year. I decide what did, and didn't work, in my original plan and see how to incorporate those lessons now. 

1. Take On: The Love Dare

Well this baby was a big giant flop.

Too many of the dares just did not speak to our love languages, and I found it more stressful than helpful.

Instead I started making a more intentional devotion for our marriage with my normal Liturgy of the Hours, and I offered a full rosary (all four decades of mysteries) in front of the Holy Eucharist at the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday.

2. Give Up: Extraneous Tech during Naptime

Even though I had done this one last year, I found it harder, and more complicated, this year.

For one, last year I had a small baby who would mostly take naps on me. If I was lucky I could sneak her onto the couch once she was REALLY asleep and do a little sewing.

This year I have a toddler, and a preschooler, who take pretty reliable naps off me plus more outside-the-house type projects that need computer doing while I don't have toddler typing additions.

It was harder than I thought to define work vs play. Some things were easy (the first day I did our taxes, for example) but others were not so clear. Did watching ballet videos for choreography count as work or play? I did need to do it for getting the ballet done, but I would probably have chosen to watch dance videos anyway.

So I'm calling this one a partial success. It did make me more aware of how I was spending my time (no more getting to the end of nap time and wondering what just happened), but I'm not sure I made the right call every time.

3. Pray On

This year I was doing a lot of discernment praying: what should I be focusing my energy on doing? Where is God calling me to grow?

It has been a scary process, as discernment often can be, but I think I got some clarity out of it.

For one, I'm auditioning again! I have an audition Monday night for a Shakespeare piece.

I was remarking to my husband that this is the one time my skills for acting, court dancing, archery, and walking in a giant dress are all relevant to my daily life.

AND NOW SOME EASTER PICTURES!