First Communion

Yesterday Amelia celebrated her First Communion. Having not experienced First Communion myself as a child, I was a little confused about what all of the hype was about.  However, having now been through 8 months of preparation with Amelia consisting of various projects, tests, prayers, etc. I now get it! It was such a beautiful day--both with lovely weather and a beautiful service.

Amelia predicted that I would cry at the service--happy tears of course.  I got the chills watching so many little boys and girls I've come to know so well over the past 3 years walk excitedly into the church--including a little girl Amelia has been friends with since they were both one.  I never imagined a group of 2nd graders could be so serious and reverent and excited about such an event.  I have never seen a group so eager to share their knowledge and answer the priest's questions!  Amelia was beside herself when opening up her gifts--a first communion book, a new bible, an engraved jewelry box and bracelet, cross earrings, a handmade crucifix.  She read every word of every card and treated each gift as if it was the most precious treasure she had ever laid eyes on.  I certainly don't agree with every teaching of the Catholic Church, but I hope that Amelia is always passionate about some higher power in her life.  I hope she will always remember to research, explore, and question everything around her.  I hope I remember to always allow her to make her own choices about her beliefs and support them--whatever they are.


The only tears from me came when the little boy in her class was bringing up the large bowl of hosts.  It was a HUGE bowl and it was practically overflowing.  Unknowingly, he left a trail of hosts all the way up the aisle.  When he realized it, he calmly finished his job, returned to his seat and then broke down in tears.  He was crying so hard and had his head hung so low my heart just broke for him and all the pressure on these kids to pull off the day perfectly and without incident.  Amelia just so happened to be sitting next to him.   She rubbed his back a few times and offered him some kind words.  His teacher did the same and passed up some tissues.  It was all very sad and touching at the same time. Luckily he recovered quickly.


For the ceremony, Amelia wore a dress that 4 of Jason's cousins wore for their First Communion!  The last girl to wear it, Sienna, is graduating from high school this year!  It is amazing how well the dress fit Amelia and she just LOVED it.  The dress has a lot going on with lace and pearls and bows, so my mom made a very simple veil and it was just right.  It was so nice not having to worry about spending lots of money and hunting down the elusive "perfect" dress.  I originally thought I would have her hair done that morning but my normal hairdresser was out of town so I did it myself.  I think all of this helped keep the focus on the real reason we were celebrating that morning and I really tried to not get too caught up in allllll of the other details.  With that being said, I am so glad my next two are boys!

Most of our pictures were taken beforehand because I knew it would be crazy afterwards and I would need to get home quickly to entertain our 50 (yes, 50!) closest friends and family.  And I was right.  It was crazy afterwards!  Charlie needed to eat pronto (the school rules are that siblings cannot sit with the parents during the service) and all 108 communicant families were milling about taking pictures.  Chaos.

We didn't stick around long but I wanted to say a quick "thank you" to her teacher before we left.  We talked about the poor boy and the trail of hosts and she also mentioned that Amelia turned around at one point and said to her "This is the longest mass ever!".  She thought it was funny because she could tell that Amelia was ready to receive communion for the first time not bored with mass.  We enjoyed getting back to the house to be greeted by everyone, get some lunch, and in Amelia's case change into shorts and a t-shirt!  Her dress only days are definitely a thing of the past! 

Today, she got to wear her dress and veil again to be recognized during mass.  Initially this morning she said she didn't want to wear it.  I was a little surprised because I knew they would be asked to stand and the congregation would applaud them.  I thought it was because it was itchy or hot or uncomfortable.  Turns out she wanted to just "blend in with everyone else so that she'd look like an old pro".  Aye yi yi.

This morning I also said to Amelia, "I can tell Mrs. Marino (her teacher) really loves and cares for them just by the expression on her face during the ceremony".  Amelia's response was, "Yes, she is always saying to us 'I love you guys, but I need my 30 minute lunch break".  Ha!


While much of the focus of the weekend was on Amelia, Jason and I celebrated our 12th anniversary today.  We didn't do much.  He let me sleep in after a 3 am wake up call from Charlie and he and the older kids went out and got donuts.  Then, while we ate breakfast, he played the soundtrack he created of the last 12 years.  We made a soundtrack of songs we liked and gave them as favors at our wedding.  The songs he picked are great and sequential from our first dance through Charlie's birth.  I'm really touched by his thoughtfulness.  It was the perfect gift.