Chocolate Milk

     So I am finally writing my first real post, and I have to admit that I am a bit nervous.  I mean, I am the type of person who has my Facebook page on all of the super private settings, and I am quite careful on the internet.  I always proof read and double check any type of correspondence that I send out, and I have to physically force myself to misspell even in a text message ("ur" makes me shudder).  What if my postings are boring?  If I make too many grammatical errors, will I seem ignorant?  Are my thoughts really crazy, but everyone around me was just too nice to inform me that I am really a raving lunatic? This is basically me posting my thoughts in diary format for the world to see (and yes, I made this blog public and didn't block anyone - gasp!).  In the end, though, I guess those things really don't matter.  My thoughts are mine, and if someone doesn't want to hear them (or is turned off by too many punctuation mistakes or run-on sentences) they don't have to read my blog.  I think that I will have fun sharing my thoughts anyway!
     With that said, what did I choose to make my first post on?  Chocolate milk, of course!  Why - you ask?  Well, allow me to explain.  You see chocolate milk, for me, is my stress reliever.  I love the taste of it and I crave it most of the time. (Yes, there is probably some medical explanation for that - something to do with calcium and pregnancies and breast feeding, but that is beside the point).  When I sit down to drink a glass of chocolate milk, it is a "taste of Heaven" (if Heaven actually has a taste) and kind of gives me a chance to regroup before I move on to conquer the next task at hand.  I quite often joke about needing a shot of chocolate milk when I am stressed (or even a keg if life is getting too much out of hand).  It is my comfort food and my own little guilty (somewhat) pleasure.  My husband learned early on in our marriage that chocolate milk has a direct link to my sanity, and that if he wants a sane wife he should keep me well supplied!
     Chocolate milk being what it is for me, it is the perfect Lenten sacrifice.  When I want something extra to offer up to Christ, and I want to work on leashing that pesky human nature that causes so many problems, I give up chocolate milk.  Yes, it may sound silly, but it works for me.  No, it is not all that I give up for Lent, but it is probably one of the things that I notice the most.
    So why, you still ask, am I writing about this as my first blog post?  Well, because it is 1:00 am on the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady.  Everyone else in the house is finally asleep, and everything is peaceful.  The Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady just happens to be a solemnity and a respite from our Lenten sacrifices.  (What better celebration than the day St. Gabriel appeared to Blessed Mother and she allowed God to give the world a Saviour through her!)  You guessed it - I just finished a tall glass of chocolate milk!  This most definitely is a glimpse of Heaven for me!  Is it worth staying up this late, knowing that I am going to be up again in just a few short hours to take care of three children (one of whom is an infant) and all of my other duties with very little sleep?  It was after the very first sip........  :-)