My Bucket List

I think we all have a bucket list, whether written down or not, of the things we want to do before we head north.  Our experience with Luke has taught me to get busy, because none of us knows just how long we have.  I’m not being all gloom and doom, I’m just saying get off your hiney and make some things happen.

Today, I was reminded of my bucket list, and one item in particular.  This morning in Rome, at the wonderfully gorgeous Sistine Chapel, the Pope baptized 16 babies on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.  For years, I wanted that baby to be one of mine.  When we found out Luke was due in October, it was perfect.  The Vatican requires that for babies to be considered for the baptism, they must be born in September or October:  check!  But, Luke decided to be a stinker and spend way too much time in the NICU.  I suppose my dream of having a baby baptized by Il Papa in Rome probably won’t happen.  But, truth be told, I’ve already had a baby blessed by the Holy Father and you’ll never believe who it was!  My beloved John Paul, of course.  Scott and I were in Rome for his job and we had a Papal Audience with then-Pope John Paul II.  Our group approached his chair and he gave us a blessing.  It wasn’t until we returned home we found out we were expecting.  We decided that if God blessed us with a boy his name would be John Paul.  And now you know the “rest of the story.”  You see, I had suffered a miscarriage a year before and we struggled with infertility for an entire year.  No doctor could explain it and I felt so discouraged.  Then, John Paul came along.  It was an answer to prayer.

I love all four of our Godchildren and am in awe of our children’s ten Godparents.  They are beacons of Christ’s light and I am honored to have them as part of our family.  Fr. Kevin, Carla, Vince, Gachia, Fr. David, Lynne, Fr. Richard, Cathy, Fr. Dean and Melanie – thank you, from the very bottom of my heart.

I suppose I did get that bucket list experience, after all.