A Celebratory Gathering and a Strong Team

Today I am grateful for our visitors this weekend and their safe travels. It was nice to spend time with people we don't get to see often.

Yesterday, our grandson Aaron was baptized at our church. It was a nice gathering and a celebration of new beginnings. Attended by a variety of family and friends, from great-grandparents to Aaron's cousin and our other grandson Leo, this weekend was the first time many met the newest member of our family.

Here he is with his parents Arthur and Alyssa and his godparents Emily and Sam, near the baptismal font holding the water used in his baptism:

Aaron won't remember his baptism, but the rest of us will. It's a formal sacrament, but I also appreciate the broader meaning behind it. Let's help this infant grow into a young person and then an adult who is a contributor and an asset to the groups, teams, and communities to which he belongs.

And then I am reminded of my own circle of support and the many family and friends who support me in big and small ways. I live gratefully to give back in the ways that I have also been given love, understanding, help, tolerance, and more.

Aaron's baptism was a celebratory gathering with a diverse group of family and friends who came together for him. He is blessed. We are all blessed.