Bob Hunt: Watching children's milestones and moving on

There’s nothing that gives such great satisfaction to parents as watching their children make progress in life.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve witnessed one daughter make her first Holy Communion, another receive the sacrament of Confirmation, and a third graduate from high school. It’s been an incomparable joy to watch my girls take these important steps in their lives, and to do so with dignity and appreciation of what each means. Even my youngest, whom I grilled over whether or not she was ready to receive Communion to make certain she grasped what the sacrament meant, delighted me with her understanding and knowledge of what she was about to do. For that, I’m grateful to Mrs. Foster, who prepared her for the sacrament at Sunday School.

She wore a beautiful white dress with a tiara and veil. She is the most “princessy” of my girls, so the tiara and veil were musts. She was asked to do the first reading, so we practiced at home, making sure she knew how to pronounce all the “Antiochs,” “Pergamums,” and “Iconiums.” I’m happy to say that she knocked it out of the park, never missing a beat!

When it was her turn to receive Holy Communion, she was proper, straight, and reverent. She received our Lord in His Body and Blood for the first time, and my heart skipped a beat. How could this be? We just brought her home from the hospital last week, didn’t we? We witnessed her Baptism and first steps a couple of days ago. We sent her off to her first day of school only yesterday. I remember teaching her her prayers, listening to her pray for her family and friends each year as she grew in wisdom and age before God and men. Now, she’s receiving her Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, not to mention being a top reader in school and a terror on the soccer field (though she never takes the field without a flower in her hair).

Reflecting on my youngest growing up takes my mind to the day in the, hopefully, distant future when she will be taking care of me. I pray I prepare her well to live a life of love and self-giving so that I won’t be thought of as a burden to her. I like to tell the young parents whose babies I care for at the hospital, “Be gentle with your babies when your changing their diapers, and they’ll be gentle with you when they’re changing yours!” They laugh. Still, the day will come for most children today when the care of their parents will be a primary responsibility for them. I hope I’m not too overbearing when that day comes.

I’ve been writing this column for just over three years. I’ve tried to encourage Christian families to pray together, and offer practical ideas on how to do so. I’ve tried to encourage families to live the faith, and offer practical ideas for doing so. I’ve also taken the opportunity to comment on movements or realities in our society that are supportive of family life, and some that aren’t. It’s not easy being a family of faith in this present age. Has it ever been? My deepest prayer is that families of faith will be supportive of each other.

This will be my last column. I’m on to new adventures. I hope you’ve enjoyed these columns, maybe taken some tips from them, and even learned a thing or two. I’ve enjoyed writing them, and have learned a lot myself. God bless and keep you all in His tender care.