First Reconciliation

Today was another "first" but also a "last" for Dave and I.

Libbi had her First Reconciliation today.  She was so ready and excited, though she did admit she was nervous.  A nice little ceremony for the children/parents, then each class went their ways to a different room where a Priest was waiting to hear all the children's sins.  Libbi took the ceremony very seriously, and I was so proud that when she came back into the church to go to the area set aside for the kids she knelt down and faithfully said the prayers she'd been asked to do.  After that, she went to the table in front of the church to sign her name on the banner that all the children sign who will soon be receiving First Communion in a few weeks.  She was given her special nametag and certificate and came to sit with me quietly for a few minutes.

When the point came where the children had to leave the church to go confess their sins, I started tearing up.  It can be a scary thing to do this, but she met it head on, without looking back.  Watching her pray afterwards and sign the banner made me realize that she is growing up.  I think this was about the time I felt the same way about Abbi.  I recall with Abbi wondering how the HECK she was going to make it through the First Communion ceremony sitting with her class, not near any adults (of course they put distance between the kids in the pews, which helps), how any of the children would make it without taking, bothering, fidgeting, etc.  But they took it so serious, I was floored!

And now it's Libbi's turn.  I watched my oldest daughter go through an important part in her life and in our lives....and now our youngest child is doing the same.  I won't have another child to go through this, or to be little again.  Time is speeding up, no matter how much I may want to hold it back, and my girls are progressing through becoming young ladies.  I know I can't stop it, or even slow it down...but I can cherish the memories and help them create them.

I'll stop there before the waterworks start (I'm a sap, we all know this fact!).

On to the REST of our lives.......The girls slept awful last night.  The wouldn't sleep in their beds, that darn Bloody Mayr story!  The slept in the recliners.  I don't know when I went to bed, but I was awakened at 1 am with THUNDER, pretty loud too!  Of course you know the next thing I heard was both girls coming in my room with arms full of pillows and blankets, to sleep on my floor.  It stormed on and off the rest of the night.  I recall going to bed thinking WOW, I'll get over 8 hours of sleep.  Only that didn't happen.  Not to worry though.  After we got home from lunch (Libbi picked Olive Garden...Dave had to stay at church and do a degree), we began working on folding laundry, straightening things up. After all, it WAS a rainy and chilly day.   Girls wanted to watch a movie, and we saw ALICE was on, the one where she is set in older years.  It was REALLY quite good!  Once Dave got home, he and I tackled cleaning our room.  It was nice to throw a BUNCH away and just get things back organized.  Libbi was so cute, all proud at making her room all neat and her bedding just perfect LOL.  We went ahead and did the grocery shopping tonight so we don't have to tomorrow.

Thankfully, the girls are both sleeping in their own rooms tonight, they are worn out.  I'm soon to be doing that in my room.