My friend’s daughter was celebrating her First Holy Communion yesterday, too, and so, since we have a lot of the same friends, we were just going to go over to her house and celebrate together. But, another friend who is not mutual asked about a party, and when I thought about it, I realized that we have enough people of our own to have a full-fledged party ourselves. We have people! People who really and truly love us! It still surprises me. 
Family picture. Plus a friend. 
Rosie was nervous, very, very nervous, but she did just fine. We’d had a good practice session on Saturday with tortilla chips and apple juice, so she was quite comfortable with the rituals of reception, but it wasn’t the actual communion that had her worked up; it was the extra stuff the kids had to do: the procession and finding their parents in the crowd, the readings, petitions and gifts, the singing (which got dropped at the last minute) and the photo ops. If I was in charge of the world, all the children would have to worry about is Jesus, and the grown-ups would take care of the rest, because that’s what grown-ups are for. But I’m not in charge.
Sister Mildred and some assorted children. She likes the rabbits.
Afterwards, it was pretty crowded inside the church, and there was a really long line to have pictures taken with Father. Davey was pretty stressed by all the strangers hanging around (good ole PTSD), so we skedaddled out the back door and took a few photos under the tree in the corner. Then we headed back to our (for now) quiet house. We had all of our tables out in the yard, in my favorite shady spot under four big old trees. (Thank you, Lord, for sunshine on what was supposed to be a rainy day!) We had every chair we owned on the lawn. We had all the food made. All we had to do was change into comfy clothes, move the food and plates outside, and wait!
Sister Lydia and Penelope
We had a good crowd, lots of friends, happy children, and perfect weather. Davey kept to his own space, but nobody was a stranger and he admitted he enjoyed himself. Our reserved Father Kevin surprised us by accepting our invitation, too. I figured he’d have tons of invites and our chances were slim, but I like him and I’m glad he came. And, of course, there were our beloved Sisters. We’ve cultivated a wonderful group of friends here – faithful, interesting, generous, uplifting, beautiful, and varied friends. The company is always good under our shady trees.
Rosie girl, all tired of smiling.
Catholic kids, wonderful friends, peaceful home – I think we have just about everything we ever wanted here.*
*But, dear family, if you want to move out here to the beautiful rolling hills of Kentucky, our joy would be complete.
. (If you judge a book by its resale value, it’s obviously a keeper!)
