Dear Lent - it's Easter - Caught In Southie

4.3 min readBy Published On: April 1st, 2012Categories: Features1 Comment

Written by Alexandra Ryan

Dear Lent,

I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying a yellow Peep or two. It’s taken me a long time, but I finally found you. With that being said, I have some good news and some bad news. I’ll begin with the bad news.

I have never successfully made it through your season without falling off the wagon. I used to blame myself, but this year, I realized that it has never been my fault. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you have an imposter on your hands. My guess is that he’s been doing this since the beginning. He shows up a week or so before you do convincing people to give up things like pizza, fried food, and ice cream for forty days. I know. It’s absurd and I should have known that you would never ever ever want me to do anything like this. I’ve been following this wacko around thinking it was you for as long as I can remember. His name is Diet. He’s a real jerk and he has a lot of people fooled into thinking he is you.

The good news:

I caught that little punk, Diet taking off his beard on Ash Wednesday right before I was about to give up mayo for 40 days. I called him out in front of a lot of people and told him to get lost – that this was your time. I think we can both agree that the world isn’t in the best place right now – people are getting crazier by the minute and the news is depressing. So, I did what I thought would help lead me to the real you. I vowed to do one good deed a day for forty days – I call them my LGD’s (Lenten Good Deeds). I figured that if I could get out of my own way to help make someone’s day a little nicer, then it would help make the world a better place. After all, that was JC’s goal, right? This was also a much better option than allowing Diet to run the show.

My LGD’s were all very different. Some days I held elevators doors for people (I normally avoid being in elevators with other people), while other days I simply smiled and said hello to strangers (safely). I brought donuts to work and organized an educational tour for a local high school. I beat my road rage habit (this was huge), and I sent out a few ‘thinking of you’ cards to friends (people love getting cards in the mail). It really does feel good to do something nice for someone else – to go out of your way to help another person whether it be a stranger, friend, or family member. Throughout this Lenten season, I have found that in a world with so much stuff, people still appreciate the little things more than anything else. You can read about my entire LGD journey from start to finish on Caughtinsouthie.com. Below you will find LGD #33 – #46…..which reminds me…

I thought you were only in town for 40 days, but when I completed my last LGD my total count came to 46. I googled your schedule and realized that you don’t work on Sundays and that I could skip LGD’s on Sundays. This would have been nice to know earlier. I guess you could say that I went the extra mile this year, so if you wouldn’t mind passing this along to the Big Guy, I would really appreciate it.

I’m glad I found you, Lent. See you next year.

Love,

Alexandra Ryan

PS. I ate meat on Fridays – only because I felt that this could only be the work of that dickhead Diet.

LGD 33 – Sent a thank you note to a friend for being a good friend

LGD 34 Helped a woman carry her stroller down a set of stairs

LGD 35 Helped a woman carry her groceries

LGD 36 Brought a sandwich to a nice homeless man

LGD 37 Smiled at a woman who looked like she was having a rough day.

LGD 38 Sent a ‘Get well soon’ card to someone who was sick

LGD 39 Visited my sister in NYC

LGD 40 Let my sister keep the sweater I let her borrow