Giving It Up

Day: 184

High Temp: 61F

Neither Tom nor I are very religious. We both grew up in Catholic families, and Tom was even an altar boy, but that is about the extent of our religious activities. Despite this fact, most years we do choose to participate in the ritual of sacrifice that typifies Lent. We both like personal challenges, they build character and can sometimes even make you a better person.

I gave up meat as a junior in high school. This, in fact, led to my subsequent decision to stop eating mammals all together. 12 years later, I marvel at how many times I have said no to pork or beef.

Tom and I both gave up alcohol a few years back. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and it saved us a ton of money.

I have even given up Chocolate, although I don't think this made me a better person.

I like to try and find a new thing to give up each year, and this year, having exhausted most of the typical Lenten sacrifices, I was hard pressed to find something that made sense. So, instead of thinking what would be hard to give up, I thought about what I could do to make me happier, and less stressful, and cause me to be more kind to my fellow (wo)man. The solution came to me on my daily commute...

For 40 days I will be a better driver. This doesn't just mean that I will curb my Chicago-born aggressive streak. I will also do nice things for other drivers, too. Here is how it works.

Driving related Lent sacrifices/promises.

I will:

-refrain from using my horn (yes, even if you cut over in front of me, without a turn signal, and promptly slow down.)

-leave the best parking space for someone else. I could use the exercise anyhow, and hopefully an expectant mother, or even just someone having a bad day will revel in their parking luck.

-not bitch or complain about Austin drivers, traffic, highway design, traffic lights, etc in any forum. Not when I get home from work, not when I am out with friends, and not on the blog.

-refrain from making any negative comments about how Tom drives (He says I am really hard on him, so I will stop.)

-let people in, even if they are doing something jerky and dangerous, like cutting around a line of drivers and through an intersection in the right turn only lane, just to get a head of those waiting to get through the intersection.

This will be real challenge for me, but my hope is that through conscious effort and repetition that my commute home will be better, not only for me, but for everyone... even the assholes who don't follow the rules.