Baptism

Although not consciously aware of it, my dreams would indicate that I experienced some pre-baptism anxiety. In one dream, David dressed Cameron in pants that he had outgrown and a dirty shirt. "Oh no!" I exclaimed when I saw him. "He's supposed to be wearing the outfit that matches Matthew's!" Dream David said with disgust, "My family doesn't wear matching outfits."
In another dream, we arrived at the church only to learn that we were supposed to provide a meal for all the parishoners. Hurriedly, we retrieved the leftover pasta salad from our earlier party. But, to our distress, it was announced that we were serving a Polish feast of kielbasa and sauerkraut!

And, dream #3, my father was put in charge of watching all the children of the parish during the baptism. He was in the church basement, which looked exactly like the basement of my childhood home. When I went to see how he was doing, he had his eyes closed in resignation and he was surrounded by dozens of kids who were all seated in giant, 6-seater exersaucers!

To my great relief, none of these dreams came to pass. Even David thought Cameron and Matthew looked adorable in their matching outfits. We did a full immersion baptism -- for the first dunk, Matthew didn't make a peep. The second dunk, a look of consternation passed over his face. Third dunk and he had had it! He wailed until he was handed off to me, at which point he turned to give the priest a reproachful glare. We were also proud of Cameron, who was astoundingly well-behaved throughout the mass and baptism.

One of the highlights of the weekend for Cameron was learning that he has magic ears, from which Chase, Grandpa Frank and Uncle Zack were able to pull many quarters. Cameron looked genuinely astonished each time and repeatedly said, "Money comes from my BRAIN!" Following mass, Uncle Zack apparently took it to a whole new level and procured a tube of Chapstick from Cameron's ear. Our family stood at the exit of the church, where many parishoners stopped to congratulate us and admire Matthew. One kind woman said to Cameron, "Did you enjoy your brother's baptism?" I'm sure she was surprised when, with wide eyes, Cameron replied enthusiastically, "I have CHAPSTICK in my EAR!"

And now for some photos:

Grandpa and Grandma, me, David, Cameron, Stephanie, Matthew and Bryan.
Grandpa Frank, Grandma Linda and Matthew in his baptismal garment.
A very tall Father Len, a very short me, Cameron, Matthew and David.