Oh, by the way...

I'm in. On August 12th I became an officially confirmed, communed, sealed with the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic. I should have blogged about this much sooner but even now, after having nearly two months to ponder, I have difficulty finding the words to describe that day, and that moment.

Perhaps I'll have to start with August 11th. That I can talk about with no problems at all! I got to see some of my best friends on the planet! They came by car and plane from all over the US to celebrate my homecoming. We drank wine, talked, laughed, drank more wine, talked, laughed, went to a restaurant and laughed and talked some more (and drank some more, Corona with a lime for me, margaritas for almost everyone else). I know some of them who "knew me when" would never have believed that I had become Catholic unless they were there to see it with their very own eyes!

We met up in a hotel room and I opened gifts. Had I known that gifts were coming I would have said something about them not being necessary at all. The fact that my friends had taken time to venture to the cornfields just to share the day with me was more than enough. I got:

• a gorgeous crucifix made of olive wood, that has replaced my "Life of Christ" picture on my bedroom wall.
  
• a crucifix necklace that I wear almost daily that also has a pendant with the Blessed Mother and Child and a round crystal I'm told either represents unity or the eternal nature of God.
  
• The Catholic Prayer book
• A Book of Hours by Thomas Merton
• The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius
• a Willow Tree angel
• a journal from my mom (you know, the old-fashioned kind, that you write in with a pen...)
• a rosary made from Job's Tears
  

I have always been terrible about writing Thank You notes, especially when I don't have mailing addresses for some of you, but if you're reading this post, THANK YOU! Thank you for coming to share my joy, thank you for the lovely gifts, and thank you for walking me Home. Each of you were instrumental in making this day come to pass, in some way.

May the Lord Bless you richly.