Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, meaning the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins. I was asked what I do to celebrate Mardi Gras. Nothing... I'm not from Louisiana where it is a legal holiday. I didn't grow up celebrating Carnival, which runs from Jan 6 until the Tuesday of Mardi Gras. Nothing. Do I make jambalaya, gumbo, or dirty rice? Do I buy a King's Cake? No. It isn't my celebration. Period! That's it! That's like asking me what I do for Kwanza or Hannukkah... I have nothing against these celebrations or the people who celebrate them. They just aren't my celebrations. What do I get from Mardi Gras? Ash Wednesday is coming. I need to be ready. I have not felt the loss of giving something up for the past couple of years... offering something up to the higher power. I had made the attempt to "do something more" but it really has left me feeling empty rather than empowered. This year will be different. My offerings this year are simple. I will give up two things that are a daily part of my life. I will give up black tea and bread. I will give up my cuppa warmth throughout the day and before bed, my English Breakfast (or some knock-off thereof) with sugar and milk...it is Cambridge Tea as my grandma called it. And bread... French loaves still hot from the store, slices holding together a sandwich, and even fresh homemade onion cheese rolls made by me here at home. Bye bye bread for forty days. So long to oolong, black and pekoe for forty days. I can tell already this is gonna be good! I'm going to miss these delectibles of daily life and by the end... appreciate them more!

March is an appropriate naem for this month. How did it get here so quick? It just came marching right through. April is the month for change here. In it are a wedding, bootcamp, and a tea party. Quite a mix. Oldest son is getting married. Third oldest son is going into bootcamp ~ Army. Two youngest daughters have birthdays in January and June, so a combined birthday/tea party will serve for the celebrations that both occur during breaks from school. But here we are in March... the month of anticipation. The month of waiting.