Sugar has never tasted so good.

One thing for certain, I would never make it in a survival situation.

This morning I couldn’t wait to down my white chocolate mocha Starbucks drink. And then I fixed me a big cheesy omelet. I would like to say I enjoyed every bite but my eyes were bigger than my belly and I got a little carried away with peppers and bacon bits.

So anyway, you’ve probably deduced that today’s fast isn’t sugar or dairy. Praise be to God! Today it’s merely liquor, at the request of my Uncle Dale. He stipulated that it must be done on a Saturday. Clearly, he doesn’t know me at all, because I rarely drink on Saturdays; I clean.

Today was no exception. But I also had a hair appointment. I was about to have to start wearing a hat everywhere I went because my gray is REALLY BAD.

So I’m at the salon, and I go to throw something away and notice what looks like bacon in the trash can!!

See it? There at the bottom? And I’m like, who throws away bacon?!? And I turn to Christy and ask her why there’s bacon in her garbage can. I am thoroughly baffled.

And she’s like, “I threw away my gloves from when I mixed your hair dye, that’s probably what you’re seeing.”

And you know what? She was right. And you know what else? My HAIR looks like bacon! Now tell me, who doesn’t love my hair?

Because you can’t love bacon and not love my hair. And EVERYBODY loves bacon.

But anyway.

It’s a relief is what it is to be back to my terrible-bad eating habits. Isn’t that awful? My eyes should be on God but instead I’m being all sloth-like and eating everything in sight.

So my prayers today are for my Uncle Dale. What he needs most, in my opinion, are help with his legs and feet. I know it’s frustrating for him not to be able to jump up and go and do like he was able to for so long. He was always so active, hunting and fishing and gardening and now he has to be content with mechanicing– that is, putting a rear end in his Lazy Boy.

That’s one of his favorite jokes, you know.

So. If the Lord sees fit, please help him with better movement in his legs and feet. Please guide him to be patient on all things out of his control and to understand that not all people are quite so swift with numbers. Please use him as an instrument, Lord, for when others are ailing to show that cancer can be beat. He blesses most everyone he comes in contact with, with his good humor and twinkling blue eyes. Heal his heart, Lord, as he has lost many good friends in the past few years. I know it must be hard not having your core group of people who have known you their whole life. He has been a supporter of me since I was just a runty little wormy kid, teaching me about the outdoors and wildlife and how to behave. He showed me how to clean a fish when I wasn’t even big enough to see on the table, we had to drag a chair over. He taught me how to throw a frisbee, teach my dog to sit, and shoot guns. I hung around while he processed deer and we watched Twilight Zone episodes into the wee hours. He taught me how good Oreos are, and caramel, and how to take a joke but dish it back out, too. I learned to always, always carry a pocket knife and to count my change when the cashier hands it back to me. He taught me all about fishing and just all the little things that constantly arise. He has been a blessing to me, no doubt about it. He is always on my side.

And a good one to have in my corner, I might add, seeing as how he’s over 6’4″ and 300 pounds. (Well, he’s shrunk a little in recent years, but not that much). Here’s one of him at Christmas showing Kylar how to make a slime ball. I was about that age when I didn’t get my My Little Pony kite.

(For those of you that don’t know, that has been a thorn in his side for most of my life. It’s wonderful to irk him through all the years.)

He can’t understand why I’m doing Lent, since it’s not much fun. It’s not ABOUT fun, me and aunt Bren tried to tell him.

There was very little danger of me drinking today, but he wants to keep me safe and home and not even drink two beers if I’m out. And that’s good advice. So I take it.

Happy Lent, my friends! Go forward, be blessed, and be a blessing to all those you meet!