For the first time in 20-Days I've experienced something that tastes good. It wasn't a 20-Days later tastes good, but an actual tastes good, tastes good. The Republic of Grand Rapids was featuring "Sweet & Sour Duck Soup" - The server brought be me just the broth, it passed the straw test - it was awesome!!! Like little angels square dancing on my tongue.
Coincidentally, Day-20 fell on Oberon day, the first day of the year where the Bell's Brewery releases their annual batch of Oberon. To me, Oberon is a little overplayed, but like Green Beer on St. Patty's Day, on Oberon day, it is worth drinking. So in addition to my "Sweet & Sour Duck Soup", I enjoyed 2 pints of Oberon.
I feel guilty about the 2-Fer that I'm posting today. I hope that this is the only 2-Fer of the 40-Days, it makes me feel lazy and neglectful. To which I can almost smile at the silliness of the situation, since the blog is self motivated and an outlet for my thoughts. But I need it, I need the blog and structure and the self-reflection that it creates. For me, the blog has become as much a part of Lent as not eating solids. If I give myself too much slack with the blog the rest may crumble and that hiding in a closet, eating a bag of Salt & Pepper Kettle Chips is dangerously close.
Yesterday was Day-19, Sunday. My first Sunday, where a meal of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh bread, green bean casserole and spinach w/ mushrooms was turned down. A day that included sleeping in, working out and thinking, a lot, about Lent. It was a day of spending time with my family, preparing for spring, not eating solids and being thankful for all that we have. Day-19 was everything a Sunday should be and everything I needed to get through without solids, to be sure that the next 25-Days are obtainable.
As it turns out, Day-19 is also the day where I decided that my first solid meal would be in another 24-Days, Maundy Thursday. As an FYI, Maundy Thursday is a day commiserating the Last Supper of Jesus and his Disciples. By the time Maundy Thursday roles around, I will have gone 43-Days without solids, and at the end of on that 44th Day, a baseball sized chunk of 135 degree, red meat will be SCREAMING my name from Mt. Everest.
Today work contained some employee stress. Rather than deal with that stress by anger, sarcasm or frustration, I passed the buck. I delegated a stressful situation to an coworker, rather my partner, a person extremely competent and able to handle the situation better than I. When resolved, three people were better off: By not blowing a gasket, I was a little improved, Robert, my partner, earned a little more management experience and an employee saved a little face in correcting a mistake. Situations won't always play out this way, but today did and it helps me to smile.
At Day-20 I've consumed more than 60 chocolate SlimFast shakes, 18 protein shakes, 360 ounces of V8, 4 McDonald's Triple Thick Shakes and a few other random fluids. By Day-44 all of these numbers will have more than doubled. Doubtlessly, the tastes of chocolate SlimFast will be low on the "needs list", but I will it will have been a staple of survival.
Jesus didn't have SlimFast, but he had the knowledge of who he was and what his destiny was. I may have SlimFast and self-resolve but more importantly, I have know who Jesus was, what he went though and what it means for human kind and to me. I'm on Day-20, not quite half way there, but the map to the end is getting more clear and the experience is exciting.
Random Notes: Started the day at 198 Lbs and since I can't gauge the calorie count of "Sweet & Sour Duck Soup" then daily calorie count is unclear.
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