*The first rule of Lent Club is - you do not talk about Lent Club. The second rule of Lent Club is - you DO NOT talk about Lent Club….
I love Lent. I just don’t always like talking about it. You know, in the way women will let a discussion of Lenten practices devolve into talk of carbs, fats, calories, etc. I was anorexic during senior year of high school. I’ve already discussed food as temptation enough for a lifetime. And it also just doesn’t seem very penitential to talk your practices to death. (Sister Mary Martha posts some nice thoughts on the addition of the word “besides” to what one is sacrificing during Lent: Here's a good rule of thumb: If the thing you want to give up has an "and besides" behind it, perhaps it's not the thing to give up, as in "I'm going to give up butter for Lent because I slather everything with butter....besides, it will help my cholesterol levels.")

In some other ways, this is the perfect opportunity for subtle evangelization. Two young gentlemen visiting my home last evening were kind enough to tell me that I had quite a bit of a dark substance on my forehead. (Wash face in the morning with Olay Daily facial, moisturize with a bit of Lubriderm and dust with Physician’s Formula Pearls of Perfection…that is how you set the foundation for ashes that last over 12 hours. Or maybe it is just the sinful nature that it clings to. The family members who went to Mass with me at 8:00AM had very little left on their foreheads.) So, yes, I had the chance for a little discussion of Ash Wednesday. Rather than be offended by their ignorance, I chose to be touched by their chivalry.

*Giving up the kvetching is not going so well.