Godmother

If you cannot tell from my blog posts in which I refer to my sister as Eleanor’s Godmother instead of her Aunt, I think very highly of the role of a Godmother in a child’s person’s life. I was the one that signed my e-mails “The Godmother,” and asked Nick to address me in such form the days following being asked to be Izzy’s Godmother. It means a lot to me, and I think part of that is because of the impact my Godmother has played in my life.

Today Nick, Eleanor and I will make the trip to Oskaloosa to say good-bye to my Godmother, Carol. Carol lost her battle with cancer this past Sunday. While she is in a better/painless place, she will be greatly missed by all. Out of all my siblings, my Godparents were the only ones that were not family members. While that meant that I didn’t see them as often as my siblings saw theirs, it made it that much more special when I did. I remember being a young girl going to visit my Godparents at their ‘mansion’, they owned and lived in a funeral home, what an interesting place to visit. I remember playing outside on the long porch and sitting comfortably in Carol’s lap. Carol was one of the nicest people you would ever meet. She had a warm, comforting voice that I cannot imagine saying a negative thing about anyone. I remember feeling so loved whenever I was around her.

Every year for Christmas I got a Precious Moment ornament from my Godparents. I loved that fact that I had the most ornaments on the family tree and now our Christmas tree is filled with 30+ Precious Moment ornaments (and we continue to add one each year). This is a tradition I have used for my own Goddaughter, each year she gets a Precious Moment ornament. I hope that some day when she is grown-up, she will have the same feeling about her ornaments and the person who gave them to her as I do about mine and my Godparents.

Despite being VERY busy, Carol always made a point to come to my special events. From my First Communion, to my graduation, to my wedding day, Carol was there… no matter what.

I was so excited on my wedding day, partly because Nick was finally going to get to meet my Godparents. I think he loved them instantly, and why wouldn’t he? In fact, one of the topics of conversation on our way from the ceremony to the reception was what an amazing job my Godparents did with the scripture readings. I remember listening in awe as they read through the words that Nick and I had so carefully picked out for that day. It wasn’t just that they were great speakers (which they were/are), but also the meaning behind them reading those words. These were the people that took a pledge before God saying they would raise me in the ways of the Lord, and here they were reading such important words on my wedding day- the day Nick and I began our life together with God. I knew we asked them to do the readings for a reason, but I didn’t know the full impact until we sat their listening to them that day. They truly were/are amazing Godparents!

My one regret is that Carol never got to meet our daughter, Eleanor. But I know that she will now be able to look down from above and watch my family as we continue to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. She will always have a place in my heart and her memories and the example she set will live on forever.Carol- I will miss you in your physical being, but know you live on in spirit and memories.