Honored

People love surprising each other, and people appreciate being pleasantly surprised. Yesterday morning, I had been asked, for some reason, to attend early Wednesday chapel at Holy Nativity Episcopal School. Early chapel is the one with the youngest, pre-K through elementary, and they filed in class by class, starting with tiny three year olds. Our HNES students are surely the most perfect and beautiful children under the sun, and I honestly wish every single one was my grandchild living right here at my house. It was six years ago this month that I retired from being chaplain and religion & ethics teacher. I will never stop loving them, and what great happiness to be there with them again.

There was the customary liturgical opening, prayer, song, pledge, patriotic hymn. And then kindergarten teacher Angela Sullivan went up to the front and as soon as Angela said “... every year at this time we honor two people by dedicating our year book to them” it dawned on me why I had been invited. 

It’s a lovely year book, filled with bright pictures and wonderful words. There is a page about me, including several tiny pictures, one with me and Kristen, one of my eighth grade graduating class right there at Cove School in 1949, on the same front steps at the same front door where class pictures are still taken to this day. Another picture shows me at the school on St. Francis day this year, leaning over to bless a large dog: with shiny white hair and white ecclesiastical robe I could have passed for Pope Benedict XVI.

Thanking the children and teachers for the honor I asked, “Are there any questions?” One shrill voice asked, “How old are you?” I’ll be seventy-eight in September. Older than the new pope, but not quite as old as Joe Ratzinger.  

Honored. And Blest.

TW+

Bill Lloyd Building - Cove School - Holy Nativity Episcopal School