Today is Ash Wednesday, arguably my favorite day of the liturgical year. Whether or not you believe in God, and you know my issues (Relationship Status: It's Complicated), you gotta like where Jesus' head was at during most, if not all, of his time on Earth. The 40 days in the wilderness and the sacrifices therein are a great impetus to modern-day believers and atheists alike to do something selfless. Frankly, I wish we all were a bit more selfless in general, myself included. Today it is appropriate to take a minute to decide on a sacrifice, or a way to give more time or energy to a cause, or to just reflect on our normal, everyday lives and how we live them.

I've decided, by the way, to keep alcohol on the docket and to also keep having regular intercourse. What will I give up, then? The thing I treasure most, my occasional raison d'etre, my obsession: worrying.

I'm not even worried about how I will give it up.

And I'm not worried that my husband smiled and stroked my hair when I told him. Or that my boss seemed dubious of my success.

Dude. I gave up nagging my husband one year and that went ok (until about a week before Easter, on trash day).

Here's what I've been working on - the Lenten focus of my church job - and if you want to help out, I hope you'll visit our church or drop some change at a place of business that is partnering with us, like NoFo or Armadillo Grill. Or, come out to our benefit concert March 16 (more on that later) Thanks.