Today was christening day! What a gloomy start to the day. I awoke to the sound of a steady rain on trees with actual leaves I had forgotten what that sounded like. Even when it rains in Tucson, we seem to not know what that sound is. Last night I was extremely confused as to why my electrical outlets in my little apartment weren’t working, until I thought to check the breaker box in the hallway. It seemed that a fuse randomly blew. But I did not dare touch it until I got home this evening. I wanted to make sure what I was going to do was the right thing. And it was. I can now charge my things. The only outlet that worked this morning was thankfully the outlet in the bathroom. Thankfully I did not have to walk over to Anne & Peters in my dress clothes in the rain. Today was the kind of day where I would love to lounge around at home in sweats doing nothing. It was in the 60s, cloudy, and of course rainy. I miss these kind of days.
I had breakfast with Anne & Peter and afterwards headed over to the firehouse with Anne and her sister in law, Isabelle to help decorate. We finished that around 10:15-10:30 and went back home to change and get ready for the services that were at 11:30. Thankfully the rain had stopped for the afternoon and we were able to walk over to the church. It is only a 5-minute walk away, so it wasn’t too bad. Henry looked so adorable in his christening gown and bonnet. Much nicer than the other baby that was there. Maybe I’m bias, I don’t know. The Pastor of the church thankfully spoke some English. I told him I understood German, but my speaking ability isn’t up to par. So he was nice enough to have the audience sing the opening psalm in English instead of German. He announced to everyone that there was an American present and welcomed me, which was very nice. Thankfully, I had a pretty good understanding of his sermon. His German was very clear and he spoke on the slower side.
11:30 isn’t a great time to have a christening since babies like to nap around then. Poor Henry was tired and cried a bit, but then fell asleep. I was worried I would have to say some phrase by my self in German when it came time for the actual ceremony, but instead they had the Godparents stand and the Pastor said a phrase and told us to repeat it and that was it. Then we went up to the altar for the blessing. Henry was sound asleep and as soon as that water hit is head he started to cry. Poor baby. My job was to bring his candle to the windowsill after he was blessed. They personalize candles for weddings and christenings here. His Aunt Isabelle made the candle for today. I have pictures. It’s very sweet. After the ceremony we finally were able to go eat. I was starving when it was over.
It was a nice, small, get together of about 35 people. I was so happy to see Anne’s dad finally after so many years. I also saw her friend Janine whom I met in 1996 (she was an exchange student as well) and she’s also having a baby boy this year (October). It was great to catch up with her. It was nice that everyone spoke some English to me today (those that could). My understanding isn’t bad, but when I’m tired I tend to zone out the German. Haha. There was so much food! Chicken, Potato Pancakes, Rice with veggies, and salads galore. Plus, there were about 4 home made cakes (I don’t think they have boxed cake mix here), and other treats. I was so full.
Henry got so many gifts. Blocks, toys, books, a coin bank, and the best gift was from his grand parents. It was a 3 foot long wooden Arc with Noah, his wife Hannah, and animals (Elephants, Hippos, Giraffes, Donkeys, Lions, etc). All were hand painted and made of wood. Peter decided to place Henry in the Arc and he had a blast. Henry wore a little Tuxedo during the reception, it was so cute. We finally cleared out of there after 7pm. Peter took several trips and car loads back home and then back to the firehouse. After we tidied up a bit, Peter’s parents, and siblings came up for some wine and leftovers. They are a very nice family. I spent some time talking to Peter’s father at the reception this afternoon and his sister and I spoke a bit this evening about school. I was proud to be able to understand some of the conversations that were going on. They speak a bit fast for me when it’s late in the evening and I’m so tired. It was a very long day, but a great one at that. Henry did really well after keeping his mom and dad up most of the night before and waking them up at 4am.
We finally had those British bagels for breakfast. Not bad. They’re better warm than cold. I had a cold one this evening and it was a bit dry. Tomorrow we are heading to the city again to visit a Miniature Wonderland. It’s apparently a small scale model of places with trains and what not. Peter said that we get to visit America tomorrow. I’ve always wanted to go there! The weather looks better over the next 4 days or so. A bit warmer (low 70s) tomorrow, but cloudy. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday it’s supposed to be sunny and near 80. I’ll take that. It’s like a Tucson summer evening.
Until tomorrow!
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