I had a lot of questions, and I took the classes very seriously (this will come as no surprise to those who know me well :-) By the third lesson the priest called my house and asked my mom if he could come to the house to meet with me, because my questions were very involved, and causing a bit of a disturbance in the Sunday School. I wasn’t trying to be difficult. It just seemed to me that confirming my faith in front of the whole congregation, complete with Bible passages, incense, and all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with that event, required serious consideration. A one-size-fits-all answer was not enough.
Father Paul was wise beyond his years. He managed to convince me to go through with it without making me feel dishonest. He told me it was really for my mother, and that if I changed my mind when I got older, God would understand. He gave me the out that I could say “maybe” and make my mom happy at the same time. Who knows, maybe he was hedging his bets and thinking I would not change, and eventually climb on board. But I never did. It never felt authentic, and I preferred tending to my spirituality in my own way.
My kids are getting to be “marrying age.” Not that my two millennials are in any hurry to go down the traditional path of marriage any time soon. But as they date people from different backgrounds, it has occurred to me that we raised our kids without “paperwork.” They are not documented in any religious institution, which for some could pose problems. I wonder if my mom was just trying to make me “normal” so life could be easy and I could fit in where I needed to. I’m sure she also felt that going to church and learning to love thy neighbor was not going to be a bad thing, but it’s not like she was devout. Maybe my mom was also wise beyond her years by just getting me “certified” in the event I ever married someone who wanted to be married in a church.
I’m not sure if my Episcopal pedigree would have met my husband’s Catholic church standards. Thankfully, we did not worry about it. We were married by a justice of the peace on a rainy November day in Rochester, NY. I don’t regret that my sons don’t have paperwork to make them official in any religious institution, and I’m very proud of who they’ve become. But I have a feeling that if this becomes an issue down the road for my boys, my mom will be winking at me from heaven.