Day 15: Two Week Update

Two weeks into Lenten Ramadan and only four and a half more to go.  Here are some miscellaneous thoughts, observations and questions to answer:

• The days are getting looooooonger.  Since the Spring Equinox occurred within the past week, the time between sunrise and sunset is now longer than the time from sunset to sunrise.  Each day adds two minutes and forty-five seconds of daylight so the fast gets slightly longer each day.  Here is a chart that I consult for sunrise and sunset.  Also, Google is helpful in that a search of "sunset Omaha" not only yields the time at the top of the page, but includes a nifty little image and a statement that reads something like "6 hours and 25 minutes from now."  To answer a question, for the sake of consistency my official time is "Verizon Time," so I always consult my cell phone before breaking the fast.  I might add that never before in my life have I been this aware of when the day begins and when it ends.  It certainly has tuned me in more to the rhythm of the natural world.

• Pet Peeve to the nth.  I mentioned yesterday how the social dimension of meal time seems magnified to me now.  Not all is roses and lollipops though.  My #1 pet peeve is listening to eating and this Lent it is rearing its ugly head.  This demon usually manifests itself in the loud crunching of potato chips, the chewing and lip smacking of an open mouth or a dog lapping up water interminably.  But when I sit down at the table and am not eating, even the sounds of ordinary noshing are sometimes magnified.  I have most noticed this with my own children who, God love them, are still learning the nuances of table manners.  Oh well.  I guess I just have to do more talking to drown out the raucous Mephistopheles otherwise known as a celery stick.

• An appointment.  My parish hosts a weekly Lenten prayer breakfast for the high school youth group and I am honored and excited to have been invited to speak tomorrow morning about my Lenten Ramadan.  It should be a lot of fun!  Breakfast is provided and the whole thing is done before sunrise.

• Weekly weight tracking.  Another frequent question people are asking is "how much weight have you lost?"  I have lost an additional two pounds this week for a total of five pounds.  But let me remind everyone that that is only a side effect.  I am not doing this for weight loss purposes and I have tried to actually eat a little bit more in the evenings in order to curtail rapid weight loss, but once I am satisfied I find it both difficult and wasteful to continue to eat too much more.

• Thank you.  A word of thanks to everyone who has visited "A Lenten Ramadan (of Sorts)."  Blogspot produces some interesting statistical information and in the first two weeks there have been nearly 500 pages views.  This is an amazing number!  The vast majority of these views have been in the US but there have also been visitors from Canada, Mexico, the UK, Hungary, Indonesia, Singapore, Belarus and Iran.  If you have returned more than once, thank you for sharing your time with me.  My hope is that together we can be peacemakers in this world. 

• Questions?  Comments?  Suggestions?  Despite the fact that the number of visitors has exceeded my expectations, I have been the recipient of only one comment (a question, actually).  If you do have any questions about Lenten Ramadan that I have not yet answered, if you have comments on any of the entries or if you have suggestions that you feel might help enhance the experience, please feel free to let me know.