Forty.

As I have mentioned before, I was raised Roman Catholic meaning every year around this time I contemplate all the things I tried (and usually failed at) giving up or doing better for the 40 days leading up to Easter.

I'm about as non-practicing as a Catholic can be. I'm not even a C&E Catholic (Christmas and Easter) I've become only a C Catholic. Blame my liberal arts degree and that minor I picked up in anthropology.

I have always loved a good challenge and, as an adult I still like to give up or commit to something during Lent, regardless of my current, actual mass attendance or buffet style (I pick and choose from a variety of belief systems) spirituality. I would like to make this the year I actually see something through. I am not sure if I have ever done this, if I did, I don't remember now.....

Anyways, I am, starting tomorrow, challenging myself to 40Days of Movement. Meaning I will get at least 30 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise per day, for the next 40. I am not going to be picky about what form this exercise takes, it could be (but not limited to):

Walk/jogging
hiking
Wii-Fit activities
Dancing around my apartment
vigorous cleaning of the apartamento
Chasing children around a playground (ones I know, I'm not a creeper)

And basically anything that will get my blood pumping and my endorphins going.

Since I've already proven I can't blog every day (remember 30 Days of Truth? Yeah I'm just not witty enough to find something clever to say every day) I'm going to twitter about it. And if anyone wants to join me, tag that shit as #40DaysMovement and get sweaty along with me, because its always more fun than getting sweaty alone.

Let's endorphinize! And remember: Endorphins make you happy, happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Husbands everywhere will sleep better :)

God and Stuff.

I grew up Catholic. I went to mass every Sunday for the first 18 years of my life. I went to private Catholic school for the first 3 years and then I went to Monday evening religion classes until confirmation in the 8th grade. Ash Wednesdays I went to church at 6am before school and then walked around with a dirty forehead (until high school where I would rush to the closest bathroom to wash it off). Midnight Mass was just another part of our Christmas Eve.

Somewhere along the line I ended up in a Methodist youth group since all my friends attended. Then in college, as an Anthropology minor I sort of gave up on the whole religion thing, because really, scientifically, it doesn't make sense to me. The simple fact that many religious people believe the Earth is a mere 6000 years old and people lived to be hundreds of years old in biblical times kills me. There is scientific evidence of our Earth's long history and human lifespan is 120 max, and it was even shorter without western medicine.

But I digress....

I have been throwing around the idea of starting to go to mass again every week at the Catholic church in the small town I live in. To me there is something comforting about mass. It's weird I know, but I was recently at a Catholic wedding and I sort of miss being at church. I mean, more than half my life I went every week. It was just a part of things to me back then. I found it so amusing to NOT do anything on Sundays when I first moved out of my parents house, but now, I'm a bit older and I miss it. I like the excuse to wear a dress. Plus having to just sit and be still for 45 minutes of the week would probably not hurt me any.

Am I finding some old faith in a higher power that I lost somewhere along my way? Probably not. Does a lot of me wanting to go back have to do with my Niece (Baby M) needing at least one active Catholic godparent in order to be baptized in the church? A little. But I also feel like that is just giving me a push in the direction I was heading anyways.

I don't know how the Catholic Church will feel about my reasons for returning (I am also VERY curious to see how Catholic mass in a very liberal community I currently live in compares to what I experienced growing up) but isn't the whole Christianity (yeah, Catholics are Christians, just not all Christians are Catholics) thing about being forgiving and loving everyone? At least that is what I always thought....