40 Days

Reflecting on Lent and Easter today, I found myself running some tallies. We certainly were goal-oriented this Lenten season (in most cases opting to do something extra rather than give up something). Here’s the Lenten rundown (with a wink and a nod to all you Office fans):

• 22 letters written or visits made to the homebound/elderly or grieving
• 3 novels read
• 935 dollars grossed from the Lenten Basement Liquidation project (11 items sold on craigslist or eBay, including a unit of over 300 CDs)
• 2 drop-offs at Salvation Army
• 1 drop-off to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore
• 1 bazillion dessert calories not consumed by the man of the house
• 1 bazillion extra dessert calories dutifully consumed by his pregnant wife to make up for it
• 3 pounds lost by said pregnant wife* (oh the injustice)
• 1 garage thoroughly organized
• 9 Easter baskets received between 3 people. And I’m not naming any names, but somebaby in this house received way more than his 3-basket quota.

*Hopeful disclaimer from the Internet: A loss or leveling off in weight may be noticed in the last few days before labor begins. It is common to lose 1-3 pounds of fluid before labor begins as a result of hormonal shifts.