If you do not believe me, here is my three year old getting herself baptized:
I intend to go to church more often. I am just good at talking myself out of things that require getting up and out of the house early on a Sunday morning. We are more of a cook a big breakfast, drink lots of coffee and lounge around in our pajamas type of family. Most weeks, I end up resolving to definitely go next week.
I am even reluctant to write about God and Religion. I am afraid that I will use an improper term or not capitalize something that must be capitalized, earning me the scorn of some real catholic somewhere. In fact, as I write this I am wondering if catholic should be capitalized? Possibly, but this is my blog and I am more of a lower case kind of girl. I mean no offense.
As a child, I completed my first communion and then my family stopped going to church. This left me sort of catholic. Maybe. If I wanted to take some classes and confess some sins. Not appealing as a teenager. As an adult I briefly considered other more liberal religions, but in the end religion just did not seem like something I could shop around for. And I do believe in the fundamental teachings of the church. So here I am, raising my kids as not-so-good catholics.
Today, I was reminded of why once we actually make it to church it is worthwhile. For one hour we sat together, just the four of us, with no computer or TV or other distractions. For one hour I focused on the many blessings in my life. An hour of sitting still is not easy for toddlers or preschoolers. The kids crawled all over, loudly munched their crackers just when everyone in the church went absolutely quiet and hopefully asked "Are we all done?" every time we stood up. Maybe this should have been annoying or embarrassing, but I just felt blessed to have them close to me. I left mass feeling refreshed and peaceful.
And strangely enough, at the end of the day when I asked Claire what her favorite part of the day had been, she did not pick the egg hunt or the candy or the cake. She picked the singing at church. And Abby? She has wonderful memories of the day she was baptized. She loves talking about how she got to go to church in her special white dress and how her whole family was there. So although we are not the best catholics, we are blessed to we have found a church that welcomes us and our children. And I believe our lives are better for it.
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