A Special Moment

Yesterday was the baptism for C&J's baby Thomas. There were many neat things at the baptism and afterwards, but I just wanted to share one moment that was really special: Thomas was put back in his crib (in the main living room area) to see if he would go back to sleep, but he wasn't very happy about it and was instead investigating the people sitting nearby. Someone had the idea to sing the Manah Manah song to the baby. Frances, Jonathan, L and I all started singing the song, each taking turns on the solo. Thomas was enthralled! He gurgled and smiled and was very happy watching us. This led to more singing, and he was pretty amused the whole time, though a repeat of the Manah Manah song got a little less enthusiasm, especially for those of us singing bass (he appears to like sopranos best). But we ended with a moment that was just really fun: I started singing just a few notes, a rhythm really, and each of the others came in with improvisations, sort of a do-wop (?) thing without words, just each person singing to the same rhythm in their own ranges and making different harmonies. Really really neat, and Thomas spent a while figuring out whether he liked it, finally breaking into little smiles and laughs that sent F+L into laughter watching him. A really special moment.

Pondering

On the way home from dinner today I had a stunning realization. I am very much blessed with family and friends. The thing that triggered this was L talking with Frances, and realizing that they would get along well if they had met (without me around) and would still be able to talk about very interesting things. Then thinking about this, I realized that between my sisters, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and my wife, we all get along really well and have great conversations. The same goes in a looser sense for our wider circle of friends, and that's really special.

Anyways, just a special thought that struck me on the way home from dinner. Thank you to all the family and friends, who are so special to me.