Addiction

Yesterday, I got a text from a friend.

"Planning on giving up anythin fir lent????" Yeah. Exactly as typed.

Lent? I had no idea what that was. When she explained what it was, I felt a little embarrassed by my ignorance because it was something I should already be familiar with. My dad's a strong Catholic. His whole family is and most of them currently reside in Mexico where I was also baptized as a Catholic when I was a little girl. We used to go to church every Sundays but not so much anymore now. I grew up mostly with my mom which probably explains why "lent" didn't ring a bell.

Even though I don't follow a religion, I decided to do it this year just for the heck of it. Give up something starting today for 40 days until Easter Day. Peanut butter is by far my worst addiction. I have it every mornings for breakfast--on a bagel, english muffin, with a banana or a spoonful in my oatmeal. Lately, it's been my nightly indulgence if I'm still a little hungry after dinner. I eat it out of the jar like ice cream. It's horrible. I know I'm not alone. Pretty sure there are lots of die hard P.B. fans out there but still....a huge glob (sometimes a couple if I can't resist) dipped in a bag of chocolate chips, walnuts or shredded coconut. Drizzled with honey or agave nectar for more sweetness. Eek. Not acceptable for me especially with the rising peanut butter prices those days!

My friend, also my former roommate when I lived in DC, knows my weakness. I already knew what she was going to say--give it up for 40 days. It startled me and took me a couple hours to finally make it a pact with her. Forty days, I thought, shouldn't be too bad since I've already endured a 2 month withdrawal from peanut butter two years ago. It was torture because that time, I swear my addiction was beyond worse than it is now. As the last day of the two month period got closer, I wasn't craving it as much as I used to and now usually pair it up with something else for breakfast. Okay, yes, every once in a while, I overdose on spoonfuls and drift off into a peanut butter coma. The addiction's still in me but at least I'm handling it better than before!

Just figured writing about this would carry out as if I'm making a contract with myself. Here it is, no peanut butter until Easter Day. It'll drive me crazy but my restlessness should subside as days go by. Well, hopefully and hoping it might further reduce my appetite for it in the long run. It's surprising to see how far you can go without something you thought you couldn't live without. Think it over. What are you willing to give up?