What I Gave Up For Lent

It's a Catholic thing. You try to strip away some crap in your life and become a better person. Some people call it "a conversion of heart." Same thing. So my crap to give up is this: stop bitching in traffic. It sounds easy. I mean, it's a stupid habit to begin with. I'm driving, by myself in the car, and I complain loudly about the idiots around me who should be ashamed of themselves for their behavior but aren't. It gets me very crabby, and it doesn't make them stop being idiots. I need to just let it go. I'm spoiled, I hardly ever have to drive in really bad traffic, so really, it could be worse. Ah, I feel like a true Minnesotan when I say that phrase: it could be worse. I deserve a badge that says I've internalized the MN way of thinking, like a Girl Scout badge for learning to make fire or something (do they do that?) But then wearing a badge wouldn't be very Midwestern, because that would be like bragging.

But I digress. The traffic. It's frackin' annoying. So many go unpunished. It just isn't right. But there it is, a daily reminder that life ain't fair. So I'm getting better. I've stopped yelling obscenities. I'm down to mumbling things like "oh, nice" or "idiot." Then I remember I'm supposed to let it go. Times like these I draw on my memory of Bill Murray in that movie where he was a camp counselor for all the loser kids. They were losing all the competitive events (due mostly to the rich kids cheating) and his mantra became "It just doesn't matter!" I think that phrase can come in quite useful. So maybe I'll try chanting that next time some geeb weaves into my lane while gabbing on his dumbass cel phone...