Wednesday, August 15, 2007

New Archbishop And My Son's Departure For The Seminary

I left work early today...Wednesday... in a last minute attempt to attend the installation ceremony for the new Archbishop. This is a huge event for the local Catholic church. Present for this event will be many lay people, most of the local priests, bishops from surrounding areas, and even a few cardinals. Earlier this week, my son Nick met the new archbishop at a prayer service for local priests, deacons, and seminarians. In spite of my desire to attend this ceremony, my last minute and poorly planned attempt failed. Initially, I left work in such a hurry that I didn't even consider that I would have to pay to park. So, I had to go find a money machine. Despite what my children think, money doesn't grow on trees. If that were true, I could have just pulled over by the nearest tree and yanked off a $20 bill. After getting some money, I drove around for 30 minutes trying to find a parking space. I don't think the Pope could have found one. On a nicer day, I may have been willing to park very far away and walk the distance. However, at one point the temperature gauge on my car indicated it was about 105 degrees outside. Frankly, I just wasn't up to the challenge of walking many blocks, without my trusty hat, in the mid afternoon when the temperature is 105 degrees so I came back to the office. Sooner or late I will meet this new Archbishop in a less hectic and much cooler environment. Hopefully, the event was filmed and will be shown on the local faith channel. My son was supposed to sit in a reserved section with other seminarians so I hope he made it. I guess I will find out tonight.

Tomorrow my wife and I will be helping our son move to Indianapolis to continue his great adventure with God. It is exciting for me to see him begin this journey. When my wife and I return home on Thursday night, we will once again be living in the empty nest. As soon as Nick announced his plans to go to the seminary, we measured his bedroom and ordered a hot tub. Now that both of our children are out of the house, we really should move quickly and downsize to a home for two that has no capacity for other adults to move in. Of course, there will always be room for Chloe.

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