I hope this day finds you all well. I realize that many of you have special plans for this weekend, since it's one of the most important Christian holidays.
So, where ever you may spend this weekend, I hope you have a good time with family and friends and in celebrating what Easter means for you.
Now, I am sure, those of us who have small children who are now grown, "smiles" remember those years of wonder when our kids would wake up to "Easter Baskets" filled with their favorite candy. I still remember well, myself, the excitement of those years.
Somehow, someway, Mom always found a way to make our Easter special. And since, she was a strict Catholic herself, and raised me that way, till I was older and chose my own path, she always made sure we had that Easter "finery" that seemed so important way back then. lol For us "old folks" I do remember a time when one could not enter a church, (a woman) unless our heads were covered. Now, I've seen them walking in there - lol - with their midriff exposed. lol How times DO change as they say! "grins"
Which reminds me of a story - many, many years ago, (grins).....when I was going on 17. We married young back then, (but at least we married - lol)......and it was my first marriage, and plans were being made for the wedding (months ahead of time of course) and one of those requirements were gathering together documentation that was needed in order to have a church wedding.
They use to have what they called "parishes" back then, if you lived in a certain area and were of a certain nationality - (they had French, Irish, Polish, Portuguese, etc churches) that was the church you attended from the cradle to the grave.
Well, from the cradle at least - haven't made it to the grave yet, thankfully - I received all the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, as a member of an Irish Parish. So, I had to get my Baptismal Certificate, to prove I had been baptized. At the time I was born, my family lived in what they had called temporary housing for returning servicemen and it was in the area of St. Killian's Irish Catholic Church and an old Irish priest - his name was Father Buckley and he was old then! lol had been the Priest who had baptized me.
So, I had to go to the church to get "proof" I had indeed been baptized.
I called and made the appointment and went to see him. He was a gruff old Priest - the type that always scared me to death when I was a little girl and he still had that power when I was 17! So, I quietly and politely told him my purpose for being there and that I needed a copy of my Baptismal Certificate so we could be married in the church.
He went over to where they kept all the old records on a huge book shelf that had that fine smell of wood that has been polished for years and years, and took down this huge black book and laid it on the table. As he began to open it, he asked me for my date of birth, my parents' name and where we were living at the time I had been baptized. I quietly gave him all the information and then he squinted as he opened "the book" and began to flip through the pages.
He stopped, obviously having found the page he needed and there was this long pause, then he placed the book down and gave me one of those "looks" that only someone who has attended Catholic school as a child and remembers the "old Priests" would know.
"You were not suppose to be baptized here." he said. "You did not live in the parish area."
So, I stood there, wondering (and yes, worrying) did that mean I couldn't be married in the church? I thought, at the tender and innocent age of 17, does it mean my Baptism doesn't count?
Sounds silly now I suppose - back then, well, it wasn't such a silly thing to consider, even for a 17-year-old (well almost 17!).
As Father Buckley grumbled quietly to himself for a few seconds (I couldn't hear him well enough to know what he was grumbling about - all I knew I was getting more concerned by the moment).... he went to his big desk and sat behind it and opened the drawer and pulled out a short piece of paper and started to write on it.
Then he stood up and walked over to me and handed it to me - and it was ah! just what I needed - "PROOF" I had indeed been baptized.
"Thank you Father," I said respectfully.
"Well, you shouldn't have been baptized here." he responded. "You should have been baptized at Holy Name, that was your parish when you were born."
I stood there quietly and respectfully while Father Buckley complained about the errors in parochial jurisdiction - lol - and then proof in hand, I was out the door - phew!
That feat accomplished, I could marry in the Church as my Mother wanted, and the wedding would go on.
In retrospect? lol
Old Father Buckley would have actually done me a huge favor had he denied that needed proof. But that was THEN and this is NOW and having just celebrated 28 years of marriage with my husband Raven, I can say, well, it had to be - or I might not have met Raven.
And our wedding? Raven and I?
We eloped and got married in Seabrook, New Hampshire. lol
Here's a wedding photo from eons ago - when I was 17 and married young. (why do I hear Janis Ian's voice singing "When I was 17......" lol)
Now, on Easter, they always have these Easter egg hunts for the children. Now here's an Easter egg hunt for you, if you're game. lol And I won't even make it that hard. I'm getting older - time is running out! "grins"
See if you can find the wedding photo of Raven and I - well - it was not "the exact day" like the old studio one above......but it was a week or two after we had eloped, and we had small, private get-to-gether for family and close friends.
(1) Janis Ian's song "When I was 17" was popular then.
(2) Afros were "in."
(3) We were a lot younger then, but I wasn't as young as the picture above (I'm the bride - lol)
(4) Ok - go to this link and see if anything matches up.
Go here
Yep! We both had Afros - lol and we were ALOT younger. And it was 1975. Phew! Like I said, all this stuff- happened eons ago. lol
Well, have a good one everyone - now I'll have to go surfing and see what other "blogs" I find and I wonder. Will I find any others that are as crazeee as this one? ha ha!
Who knows today? (gee I sound more and more like my Mother the older I get! lol)
