Whew
After three days or so without posting here, my readers start sending me anxious emails: "Is something wrong?" Well, generally not, but this time there were some things working against me. It was a busy trip from inception. We postponed a lot of our Christmas shopping until we got out here, so we wouldn't have to ship loads of presents from Colorado. That alone has managed to soak up a huge amount of time and energy.
Katie Beth's christening on Saturday night went off without a hitch, and we had a delightful time over at Gretchen and Bill's during the party that followed. The sacrament was confected right on the kitchen table, by our Old Catholic priest friend Mary, who also said our 25th wedding anniversary Mass back in 2001. Mary blessed the water in the lead-glass basin that dates back to our grandmother Sade's wedding shower in 1919, and then scooped the water up in a sea shell to pour it over Katie's head three times, baptising her in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Katie didn't fuss-in fact, she smiled and made happy-sounding baby noises throughout. Most infants fuss at their baptisms because the water in the fonts is at room temperature-probably in the high sixties in most drafty churches-and we were careful to keep the water at skin temperature or a little warmer, at Mary's direction. A priest who has also been a mother: Who else would have had that insight?
Carol and I pledged to keep her on the path, and we will. (Dare I attempt a short children's book on the Great Message of Lady Julian of Norwich? That God will never settle for half a loaf, and that ultimately all manner of thing will be well? Katie will certainly provide me plenty of motivation.)
Alas, there was something a little dicey about the catered-in Italian dinner, and several people in attendance got from mildly sick to quite sick the next day. Bill and Gretchen took the worst hits, but it slowed me down a little too. Fortunately, it didn't seem to go much beyond the three of us. Unfortunately, what we all saw as several days' worth of yummy leftovers went down the disposal.
Carol and I have managed to visit with a couple of friends as well as immediate family, and we hope to see a few more before we head back home. My postings here may be a little sparse for several more days, as I don't foresee much quiet time here in the basement with the DSL connection. Of course, Carol's right when she says that we didn't fly a thousand miles for me to hammer on a keyboard. So bear with me. All is well.