Stumbling into Lent

Lent is off to a bit of a rocky start here. No surprise since it's the first time in my life I've paid any attention to Lent whatsoever. (Long story short: I grew up believing religious faith was delusion. I fell in love with a man who has faith. He's never tried to persuade me. It may be catching.)

Anyway, I just ate the rest of my son's "prayer pretzel" for lunch. At breakfast-time he ate two candies from the purple goody bag he got at church last night. This is the first time in his life that he's had candy at breakfast, and it's the first day of Lent.

Should I tell our lovely Catechism teacher that it's really not necessary, and perhaps counterproductive, to bundle the prayer cards and Jesus magnets with lollipops and gummy bears? On Shrove Tuesday no less! [Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras) is the day before Lent. Ritual consumption on the eve of a period of abstention and religious observance.]
I wonder if she expected him to eat it all before bed, or was this just the ultimate Lenten challenge for a three-year-old?

I guess I failed the parental pretzel challenge.

Well, I'm thinking about Lent now, aren't I?