Lent: The Wrap-Up

Before I go into details of how Lent changed my life this year, here are some pictures of the cutest baby ever.

Laura at Sherwood Gardens in downtown Baltimore.  The tulips are amazing!

Laura with her Easter basket filled with empty plastic eggs.  It doesn't take much to keep a toddler happy!

I just love her little foot sticking out from under the little dress!  It was really hot at my in-laws house on Easter Sunday.  I am not sure if it was actually all that warm outside, but indoors we were roasting!  Laura wound up wearing as little as possible, hence the adorable piggies shown above.

So back to Lent.  Now that all is said and done, I can reflect on Lent 2011.  I said from the beginning that I was giving up telling Laura that she was driving me crazy.  But what I actually did was added patience to my life.  In adding patience, I found I was less easily frustrated.  I was more relaxed.  I got more done around the house.  Life was better.

In the last two weeks of Lent, I started to struggle with this new found patience.  I've never been a patient person, so simply saying I would be patient was difficult.  There were moments where Laura drove me nuts (and I might have even told her so once or twice).  There were evenings where I wanted to yell at Nate for not being more helpful around the house while I worked my butt off washing dishes and preparing meals.

I started to wonder what would happen to the wonderful changes I had made in my life after Lent was over.  Well, we're two days into the "new year," and I'm still wondering if I can keep up the patience (and housework).  I think I can.

No.  I know I can.  I know that I can continue to be more patient than I was before this Easter season.  I know I can be more mindful about getting housework done.  But I also know I'm human.  I know it's ok to have a night where I sit and watch TV instead of exhausting myself with a million other little things that keep me on my feet until bedtime.  When I feel myself getting frustrated or overlooking the house, I know I will reflect back on the forty days I spent being Wonder Woman patient and I will pick myself up and pull myself back together. 

There is no reason for me to be impatient with my daughter.  There is no reason for me to be neglectful of my house.  There are plenty of reasons for me to be happy, relaxed and proud of myself.  This was a great Lent.  A life-changing Lent.  I can't imagine going back to the way things were before.