Editor's Journal

Editor's Journal — March 2009

By Betsy Bethel

POSTED: March 4, 2009

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Finally, it's March. There's a light at the end of the cold, dreary tunnel of winter! I try not to get too excited about spring until April is in full swing - we all know that Old Man Winter likes to take a last jab or two at us in March, and I don't like to be caught unawares!

As uncertain as the weather is, I like March. As a Highland piper and a person of Scottish and Irish and Welsh descent, it's a busy and fun time. The Wheeling Celtic Celebration is the first Saturday of the month, and I enjoy the vendors, the entertainment and the food. This year, the Macdonald Pipe Band of Pittsburgh, of which I am a member, will perform at 2:30 p.m. at the Wheeling Artisan Center. Come out and have a listen! Your kids can jig alongside Emma Skye, my daughter, who has heard the pipes since she was in the womb. She loves the Scottish snare drums, too. And little girls are usually fascinated by the Irish step dancers, who perform throughout the day.

Of course, St. Patrick's Day itself, March 17, is a highlight of March. No green beer for my husband and me, however; I mean, you can't dye Guinness green, after all. The pipe band will be performing again for CHANGE Inc.'s annual fundraiser on Friday, March 13, at Mountaineer Casino and Race Track. We also will march for the umpteenth year in the St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday, March 14, in downtown Pittsburgh, followed by a performance at Piper's Pub on the South Side. It's a great but exhausting weekend.

The one thing about all this reveling - it tends to conflict with the somber tone of the Lenten season. Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, observe Lent 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter, starting on Ash Wednesday, which this year was Wednesday, Feb. 25. Crosses are shrouded in many church traditions, and many believers forego meat or sacrifice a particular vice during Lent as a display of both reverance and repentance. In the past, I have given up soap operas (I still don't watch them), chocolate, sugar, cursing and drinking alcohol. The latter was made difficult mostly because of St. Patrick's Day celebrations!

Some years, I can't think of anything to give up, and others I have a smorgasbord from which to choose. I try to pick something that I know is causing a problem in my life and which I know will be difficult for me to accomplish on my own - i.e., without calling on God in prayer.

This year, it didn't take me long to decide what needed to be on the chopping block: fast food. Ever since I was pregnant with Emma, drive-thrus have been like ports in my wind-tossed life, providing hot, fast meals delivered right to my car window - no need to haul my pregnant self, or, after Emma was born, a baby out of the vehicle and into the restaurant; no need to shop and cook and clean up. It would not be unusual for me to eat fast food five times a week. I became hooked on the convenience of it, to the detriment of my health, my figure and my bank account.

On the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, I was put to the test immediately. On Wednesdays, I have been in the habit of eating lunch with Emma at Burger King on the Island, where we meet one of her little friends and his grandma; and a 9:30 p.m. dinner at a Pittsburgh eatery following pipe band rehearsal. Cost: $20 and a whole lotta calories. On Ash Wednesday, I didn't eat but I still took Emma to BK (although we're going to stop going if they don't open the indoor play area back up!). And after band, I still went through the drive-thru for my carpool friend, but did not order for myself.

I noticed when I woke up Thursday morning, I felt great, rather than tired and bloated. I think I could get used to this. And I was $20 richer.

I don't think I'll ever give up cheeseburgers and milkshakes completely, but I am grateful for this exercise in pruning a bad habit. Maybe with the money I save on fast food, I can buy an elliptical machine and start working out! That is, if I don't spend it all on Guinness!

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