CAPO has come and gone. Each of the Animal competitors did very well though each had his own experience and opinion of how he did.
I mean everybody was great. Some things were good, some things were bad I don’t think we all had the best days ever. Richard had a good day, Brandon had an exceptional day, Eric had a pretty good day to. Like I said, my day most people would call pretty good or exceptional but you know for me going 6 for 9 is bad, I missed three lifts and if you want to put together a real big total that just can’t happen. – Garrett Griffin
Richard 1st
Eric 2nd
Brandon 3rd
Garrett 4th
Sam Disqualified
Lent can be like that. It can be a struggle from the
beginning, easy all the way through, or there can be bumps along the way, but
hopefully everyone is better, holier, stronger at the end.
Personally, I struggled from the beginning. With the new
job, new baby, and getting used to two daughters in our growing family, I
really wasn’t prepared for Lent. I hadn’t given much thought to it. A couple
days before Ash Wednesday I really started thinking about what I would do or
not do. I usually do something rather extreme in some way. Over the past few
years I really felt a call to go a little further with Lent: gave up my bed,
gave up shoes, only wore one outfit. This year, two days before Ash Wednesday,
I thought about only eating fish as a protein source. But, I wasn’t prepared, I
didn’t have all the fish ready much less time to prep it. I tried to see what
was holding me back and I decided to give up wasteful TV watching except for
the few shows I really follow.
This started off ok.
If the TV was on I’d sit away from it (it’s in the main gathering area
of the house), and a few times my wife and I would turn it off and talk. But,
due to the fact my wife is a stay at home mom sometimes in the evening sitting
and watching TV is how she unwinds. I realized that if I wanted to go through
with my TV fast I wouldn’t be able to be around her which would defeat the
purpose of trying to intentionally be together more.
I really started being hard on myself. Sometimes I would try
and be with her though the TV was on but I just wouldn’t look at it. I thought
that was a cop out. There were times I caught myself just sitting there and
watching with her. I felt like I was failing Lent. Then, a week before Holy
Week I realized 1. I had picked a bad fast, 2. I didn’t need to do or cut
anything out of my life. A week and a half before Ash Wednesday our daughter
Adeline was born. Our whole life went into full sacrifice mode. Lack of sleep
is a huge factor, trying to work out a schedule, who will stay up late and go
to bed and then switch, plus having to go to work the next day, and getting
used to two children. Just a few days ago I was up for 38hrs. I had lunch with
some great people last week and they really helped me see that I was already
sacrificing for Lent. But, I had it in my brain that I needed to add something
more to my normal life, though something had already been added, a new addition
to our family.
So for me, in hindsight, this was the most extreme Lent I’ve
had. Sleepless nights, new baby, two daughters, double diapers, baby puke, supporting
my wife, new job, and slim to no gym time! Most of the time I felt like a
failure though in reality I was right in the midst of where I needed to be.
Here's a great article from Dr. Taylor Marshall about how a strict Lent could harm your experience of it: How My Strict Lent Once Ruined Easter
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