Valentine's Day 2007: Snowed In

This is shaping up to be one of the more memorable Valentine's Days for our family. We are all snowed/iced in together: school closed, my work closed, and we cannot get the car out of the driveway, so my husband can't go to work either. We've relaxed, played games together, shoveled really heavy sticky snow, and at this moment are on round 3 of playing outside in the snow (all except me). Hopefully naps are next.

Lent begins one week from today. Last year, my Lenten sacrifice was giving up reading. It was the one thing I could think of giving up that would be the biggest sacrifice for me, what I would miss the most. I later learned that I was in good company: Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God (awesome book about an Orthodox Jew who became an Episcopalian), also writes of giving up books for Lent. My only allowable reading was the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and reading out loud to my kids. I cheated quite a few times, but found myself thinking more, praying more, and reading the Bible more. The hardest part of it was giving up my morning paper -- reading it from start to finish (excluding the sports page)is one of my favorite daily rituals.

Will I do it this year? Haven't decided yet. If it happens, then I need to return a whole bunch of overdue library books.