Monday, April 03, 2006
Baptism (and poker)
I attended the baptism of my friends' 5th child this weekend. He's a beautiful baby and I always love visiting my friends, but I have to admit that I approached the weekend with a little bit of trepidation. You see, nearly all my friends have 5 children (more or less) which means that most of my friends have been married long enough to have 5 kids. While I've been holding down a variety of jobs, they've been changing diapers and investigating schools. I'm not making a judgement on either lifestyle, they're just different. Which often leaves me feeling like a creature from outer space trying to look like the humans when we have these types of gatherings.
Which brings me back to the baptism. I needn't have worried. It became something of a college reunion with old friends visiting from out of town, catching up on the last few years. And, all those kids were awfully cute. One little girl, daughter of an old friend from high school and college, has the biggest, brightest smile that I've ever seen. It's hard to not feel joyful when you're around a smile like that.
After all the dust cleared and the kids were sent down to the basement, we settled down to a serious game of poker, continuing an old school tradition. These friends and I have played cards across half the US and most of Europe too. As my 6 year old goddaughter said, "It's always a good time to play poker, except at school or Church because in school you learn and in Church you pray." She learns fast!
I didn't win any money, but the pleasure of being with good friends was more than enough for me.
Which brings me back to the baptism. I needn't have worried. It became something of a college reunion with old friends visiting from out of town, catching up on the last few years. And, all those kids were awfully cute. One little girl, daughter of an old friend from high school and college, has the biggest, brightest smile that I've ever seen. It's hard to not feel joyful when you're around a smile like that.
After all the dust cleared and the kids were sent down to the basement, we settled down to a serious game of poker, continuing an old school tradition. These friends and I have played cards across half the US and most of Europe too. As my 6 year old goddaughter said, "It's always a good time to play poker, except at school or Church because in school you learn and in Church you pray." She learns fast!
I didn't win any money, but the pleasure of being with good friends was more than enough for me.
