Last weekend, we hosted the families for Hadley’s christening. It was great to have my parents in town for a few days. They arrived a bit early and we got to spend a couple of days with them. It was the first time they had been this way since right after Hadley was born.
We had a great time in the run-up to baptism day. My dad helped me out with a few things around the house and my mom got to spend some quality time with her granddaughter. While grandma nearly held the baby in her arms the entire time, it turns out Hadley took quite a liking to grandpa. She hung on him chimp-like and even was seen taking a nap on his chest, not something she does with just anyone. The old man seemed to quite like her too.
By Saturday, my brother, David, and his girlfriend, Micaela, arrived. Our pick-up was slightly delayed, after my dad and I took a detour to a puddle jumper airport just north of Providence, thanks to my mother’s iPhone GPS routing us to the wrong destination. Having never been to the Providence airport before, I was none the wiser until we approached the deserted airfield. Needless to say we got righted pretty quickly. Chalk one up for the old school paper maps. I am rock solid with those.
Ali, Hadley, and I finally got to meet Micaela which was a treat. She was home in Argentina when we were in Chicago for the holidays, so we missed her. She too adored Little Miss Hadley and immediately upon my mother’s departure invoked the newly coined term “Micaela Time.” Needless to say Hadley got plenty of cuddling and spoiling.
The christening itself was quite nice. Uncle David and Aunt Keri were flawless as godparents. The baptism was rolled into a normal service and everything went off without a hitch. The minor exception was a knocked fan during Hadley’s presentation to the congregation. That made a bit of a racket briefly but was quickly subdued.
Apart from the service, we had a small gathering at the homestead, in spite of the oppressive heat and humidity, and occasional rain. It seems like we always have the best weather for our summer soirees. Our MA reception was probably the hottest day of that year, and this baptism day was one of the more uncomfortable one this yet this season.
We did get to spend a couple of extra days with my brother and Micaela before they returned home to Chicago. We all had a great time cruising around downtown Boston one day and up the North Shore the next. It was all great fun.