Carrie Link

ALLELUIA!

Forty long days ago my son was told not to say "alleluia" again until Easter. Lent is a somber time, and words like alleluia are rejoiceful. My son is not somber, and thirty minutes after having his forehead smeared with ashes in the shape of a cross, he declared, "I hate Lent! I just want to say that 'A' word right now! When is Lent over?"

"Forty days, sweetie."

"Can my Lent be over now?"

"Yes, your Lent can be over now."

None-the-less, he refrained from saying "the A word" until today. He did, however, declare some B, C, D, E,F etc. words off limits from time to time.

"Mom! You said the B word!"

"What?"
"Boy! Don't say Boy during Lent!"

And so it went, with no rhyme nor reason, for forty long days around here.

It's hardly as though we "alleluia" this and "alleluia" that around here, but just by being told not to say it, it became irresistable.

I'm thinking the obvious here. C'mon, say it with me, reverse psychology, baby! When my son becomes a teenager I'm going to forbid him from sobriety, abstinence and natural highs! What do you think?