Monday December 15th was Junie's First Reconciliation (confession), an important sacrament and a pivotal step towards getting her First Communion next spring!
She was REALLY nervous beforehand - and I mean for days - and I overheard this brief (and shady!) conversation a few hours before the event:
Junie: I don't know what to say. I'm scared.
Smiley: It's no big deal. Just come up with three things you think sound bad. Like, "I lied to my parents," or "I stole Mom's cookie dough" . . .
Junie: But I did steal Mom's cookie dough.
Smiley: That's good. Then it'll sound real.
Having done this three times before, we knew we'd have a decent wait between the start of the prayer service and the actual confession, so Mom helped her with her homework during that time.
Then, when it was her turn, we walked her into the confessional, introduced her to the Priest ("Your Dad and I go way back, Junie - he's one of the good ones") and then gladly took a picture with our diva in the hallway.
Then Junie lit a candle by the altar and placed it among those of the other students.
After that we all said the Lord's Prayer and headed downstairs to the cafeteria for cake and punch, where a 5th grade student had written a card just for my gal. Junie was floored and genuinely thankful.
Here's her teacher, a veteran of three other Slap kids!
Then, as promised, we took Junie to Leon's Frozen Custard for a scoop of their tasty treat.
Congratulations Junie! Mom and Dad are super proud of you!
