Lent
One thing that’s changed since Mom left is that I don’t go to places she loved.
This is intentional. Nary a Hobby Lobby nor a Chick Fil A in my recent past or future.
I kind of forgot about Lent though.
We weren’t religious. But she really believed in having fish on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays through Good Friday.
I had some delicious gumbo from Penelope on Ash Wednesday. Stuffed with andouille sausage. The red beans and rice had sausage too.
So meaty, Joel McHale.
It felt so strange, thinking about all that.
Last year, she wasn’t really eating around this time. Maybe she’d take two bites but then throw it up. But she definitely wanted me to run to Bud’s and get a seafood platter for us to split.
That was weird too. We always gave fish to the cats. Cocoa would eat three bowls and the others are like WTF is this shit. So basically it was me and a platter of fries and fried fish.
If you go to the right Bud’s, the fries are great.
In any event, I remember asking her why it was important to observe the no-meat rule.
She said she knew she was getting closer to the end. She didn’t feel like she had a lot of points in her favor if there were such a thing. So the least she could do is observe a basic tradition.
I didn’t have any meat today (Friday) but that was more of an “I only have salad left in the fridge” than a conscious choice. As I pick anything BUT salad all week.
By anything but salad, I also consumed an entire king cake in two days. Details. I mean, isn’t that like not eating meat?
Anyway, I hope I remember all these little things about Mom. And I hope I stop remembering all the times I questioned her about them.