House Blessing

The First Lady and I have been in our new home for a little over three months and pretty much have the kinks out, and have things where we want them. We knew we wanted to have a house blessing, it was just a matter of getting back to town and finding a day where our priest was available. Saturday, August 20 turned out to be that day.

The day started early, with a 5K road race I ran as a member of a local race team. 5:45 wake up for a 7 am start. I was home by 9:30, and after an apple fritter and a Bavarian crème-filled long john, I cleaned up and got about the business of being a host. We had the munchies and antifreeze already, so some light cleanup work was all that we needed.

We invited friends from all our different circles, and they started to arrive about 3:10. We had a full house about a half hour later. We were absolutely thrilled that so many people (41 by our count) wanted to share in our joy—we love our house, our friends and our church, so this was a great chance to put it all together. Father Marc started by blessing the water and praying over each room, sprinkling the water throughout the room at the end. Entryway, kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom and even the master bathroom were covered. Not covered in the prayer book were storm cellars, of which we have one, so that was the last room to be blessed prior to coming back upstairs for closing prayers and dismissal. I’m on record here as truly loving our church and its priest and people, so it was really special for Ann and me.

We’d timed the event for 3-6 and the actual blessing at 4, since we knew folks had plans. But our trivia friends hung around and helped us get rid of some of the beer in the fridge. Much food, music, fun, libation and laughter were had by all. The conversation had found a dull point at one juncture, and the music from my Ipod got a razzing. The Wayman Tisdale albums had run their course, so I continued with more jazz from my Weather Channel collection. I like the stuff, but it was kind of like bad wallpaper. So out came the rap. I have no idea who most of the artists were, but I did learn that I have friends who know their rhymes.

The whole day turned out to be something really special for Ann and me—a home we love, surrounded by friends we love. I know it sounds corny, but it really was a day we’ll both remember for a long, long time.