1. I don’t think I’ve mentioned on the blog that my DH isn’t Catholic. How a nice Catholic girl wound up married to a guy with similar views to Christopher Hitchens is too long a story for this post. [I hasten to add that DH, to his everlasting credit, is not nearly as strident as Hitchens (God rest his soul).] Suffice it to say that I drifted away from the Church when I was younger, met and married DH, and then came back to the Church.
2. Why do I bring this up now? Because DH and I were discussing Lent the other day, and the discussion doesn’t make much sense if you haven’t heard #1. You see, despite not being Catholic and repeatedly referring to religion as “claptrap,” DH always gives up something for Lent and abstains from meat on Lenten Fridays. This boggles my mind. I’ve repeatedly told him that while it’s very nice of him to do so, since he’s not Catholic it’s OK if he doesn’t give anything up for Lent and eats meat on Fridays. And he responds that it’s a “personal challenge” and he’s “just trying to see if he can do it.”
3. And what do I say to that? Well, what can you say to that? Sometimes it’s best to just say, “OK, dear,” and move on. :)
4. Since some of you may be wondering, yes, I did invite him to come get ashes on Ash Wednesday. He was less than enthusiastic. (No, you don’t have to be Catholic to get ashes on Ash Wednesday.) I sense some novenas in my future.
5. Novenas… why on Earth didn’t I think of that earlier? Beats me. I pray for DH all the time – I’d be a pretty bad wife if I didn’t, even he were Catholic – but doing a novena never occurred to me till writing this post. I’ll let you know how it goes.
6. On a lighter note, someone once asked me, “He’s an atheist? How can you be sure he won’t just run off with his secretary?” I responded that I was sure he would never do that because: 1. He doesn’t have a secretary. 2. He enjoys being alive. DH may not believe in God, but he certainly believes in the fury of a scorned woman. :) (And yes, even the sanctity of marriage!)
7. Anyway, let’s end with a song. This Friday’s song is “The Weekend Starts Here” by Fatboy Slim.
