So, I've been thinking a bit about my intentions for Lent this year quite a bit over the last few days. Probably would have been a good thing to settle prior to Lent actually beginning, but. You know. Here we are. I'm not really in a good place to engage the Eastern fast very well. I never have been, really, since I've always been either nursing or pregnant during Lent. Which, in a sense, is freeing. In another sense, it leaves you completely structure-less and confused about the ways you CAN engage in the great return. So, this year I'm focusing on just eating simply. Simple food,simple living. Adequate nutrition, but no frills. We've cut television entirely and limited our audio pretty significantly as well. I so desperately want to teach my children (and myself) to feast well by teaching them to fast well. I want to spend more time being mentally present at home during the day. Obviously, I'm physically present. And my heart is always filled with love and concern for my family. But the actual, real days are full of distractions and escapes--email, facebook, housework. I want to spend more time looking into my family's eyes when they're talking to me, I want to respond more quickly when they require something, and I want to minimize the things that make doing that more difficult. I want to embrace the purifying experience that mothering is, and spend more time becoming aware of God's presence in the most menial parts of my day. I am learning that, as a mother of young children, sometimes prayer doesn't come in long, quiet, peaceful stretches. It usually comes in breaths, in sighs, in quick whispers of worry. Those prayers are real. They matter. God hears them, and they count. I want to fully internalize that this season. So those, briefly, are my larger goals this year. I'm sure there are more--and more practical ways to bring those changes about. But, there's lots of time. May your fasting be blessed!