“So, let me get this straight, you voluntarily decided to do this?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“And you don’t go to church?”
“No.”
“I mean I went to Catholic school and…” and then my co-worker shook his head and trailed off in a way that made me believe that he had, in fact, gone to Catholic school.
My co-workers often pop out to get beer on late Friday afternoons. We work right next to a Target and there are cases of cold beer right inside the entrance.
But as I mentioned on St. Patrick’s Day, I gave up drinking for Lent.
My friends know the deal. Anyone who listens to me on social media knows the deal. I always give up something for Lent. The first time I gave up alcohol, I didn’t have a drop for the entirety of Lent (which is actually forty-seven days, not forty because technically Sundays aren’t part of it, don’t ask why, like a good Catholic, I don’t really ask questions). Then I decided to give up coffee for Lent. One year I made it three days. Another year I made it the entire time without any caffeine, not even a Coke. By the end I didn’t even miss coffee. But I went back anyway. I mean, it’s coffee. (I haven’t attempted a full Lent since, just the occasional February.)
This year I gave up drinking because, well, I always give up something and drinking is far easier than coffee. I drank on my birthday but it was a Sunday and I think Jesus would understand.
This Sunday Lent ends and I will be able to drink again. (I mean it’s also the day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is resurrected and all that jazz.) I have no plans and Tottenham Hotspur plays Chelsea in the morning and then, directly after that, the Mets play the St. Louis Cardinals. If ever there were a day to be able to return to drinking, it is this Sunday.
And yet, why did I do this in the first place? Like I told my co-worker, I don’t go to church and, while I identify as Catholic, it’s more cultural than belief based at this point. So, why? Basically because it’s good to give things up every now and again. I like recalibrating. It’s also interesting to go to a party sober and realize that the, “Wait, what the hell was I talking about last night?” thought still occurs the next day after not drinking.
Maybe I’ll keep the sober streak going, at least until the next time there’s beer in the office. I’m forty-one and day drinking is a younger man’s game. We’ll see. Check back here on Sunday and see if I write anything intelligible. Happy Easter.
