Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Lent officially ended shortly after midnight today, and our church (Greek/Russian Orthodox) celebrated in all the usual ways, reveling in all the things we had to give up during the 48-day fast.

The three-hour service culminated with a huge feast, complete with as much wine and Ukranian vodka as we could stomach. Yours truly polished off two shots of vodka, one glass of Louis Jadot Beaujolais, one glass of “home brewed” wine, one glass of merlot, and three or four glasses of Black Swan Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not sure how many more than that because I sort of stopped counting at that point.

I do remember laughing my head off about something while a friend exclaimed, “Oh my, I think she’s drunk!”

It’s been a while. And I enjoyed every inebriated moment of it. Except for the hangover the next day. Killer, killer hangover. The room didn’t stop spinning until somewhere around Monday afternoon.

I can’t wait until next year.