Lent

Today marks the beginning of Lent. I've decided to forgo on video games, set a 10:00 bedtime, and wake up 20 minutes earlier each day to read my Bible and get a jump start on the day.

There's a method to my madness.

Video games are a good way to relax, but they're also really easy to sink more time into than I want to.  This causes me to not accomplish things that I would also enjoy. When you only get a couple of hours of free time a night, you need to use it wisely! I want to finish a book my father-in-law loaned me, Killing Lincoln, and my brother, Patrick, wanted me to read Nuklear Age and Small Gods at some point. Then there's exercising, chores to make my mornings smoother, et cetera, et cetera. All things that staring at a loading screen won't get accomplished. Abandoning games should help me go to bed earlier, get plenty of sleep, and avoid being the zombie dad who stares at the baby monitor and tries to will my child back to sleep in the morning. That paves the way for a more awake Mike who can intelligibly read a few passages in the morning, and isn't that what Lent is supposed to be about?

This also brings up a nerdy question I need some help with.

No more video games means I can squeeze in an episode a night of a series I need to finish. I'm in the middle of Star Trek Voyager, Babylon 5, and Stargate Atlantis. Which should I pick back up first? Carrie and I used to always watch an episode or two of a series before Shane, but it's largely lapsed since she tends to fall asleep on the couch while I'm putting Shane to bed. Carrie's a huge Voyager fan, but my friend Igor's already told me that his vote would be for Atlantis. Hmmm......Voyager is no DS9, but Atlantis is no SG-1 either...

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Expect me to be posting fairly regularly throughout Lent. The next several posts are going to be odes to people who have been helping raise Shane! Carrie and are I blessed that we're in a situation where we have not had to shell out hundreds or even a thousand dollars a month for child care. I work and tutor Monday through Friday, and then Carrie works Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, and often trains horses on Sunday. Nana watches Shane Monday and Wednesday. I provide the weekend child care, but I sometime drop by Nana's after church for a break in the routine. Carrie's parents have driven 2.5 hours one way to cover some days when Carrie needs extra support or Nana isn't available. Then on Tuesdays, Carrie hired her friend Genevieve to trek up and help out, so she can run errands, install doors, and train the occasional horse.

It's been a huge help. They're all part of the Shane equation, and since this blog is now mainly about Shane I figure I should give them their due.