Godparents and Fancy Dinners

Anyone who has spent a day with Hurricane knows three things about her: she has a deep desire to be helpful, she does not want to be interrupted when she’s reading, and she absolutely loves her Aunty Alewat and Uncle T! 

Their love affair started innocently enough. Hurricane was a little over a year old and transitioning between schools. There was a week where she was not enrolled anywhere, but needed to be watched for the day. 

We take the saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ quite literally around here, so we split up the week between family members. I took two days off work, MisterE took one day off, Gogo took a day, and the fifth day went to Alewat. 

I’ll admit, I was extremely nervous about Hurricane’s day with her aunt. It was their first full day together, outside of Hurricane’s natural habitat and away from the safety blanket that is “mummy.” I knew how Hurricane ran the show at her previous daycare and wondered how her free-spirit would translate to Alewat’s structured way of doing things. 

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t nervous for Hurricane, I was nervous for Alewat! I mean, we call Hurricane “Hurricane” for a reason! The girl is two and a half handfuls.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Alewat is, after all, a #PANK! (Professional Aunt, No Kids). They had a fantastic day together, and Alewat and T couldn’t stop raving about what a wonderfully behaved girl she was. 

Since that day, they’ve scheduled monthly trips to a local event or the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and often lunch afterwards. Covid-19 put a stop to their outings (booooo!) but Hurricane used to look forward to these outings with such excitement, it was totes adorbs. 

When Hurricane was born, MisterE and I discussed asking Alewat to be her godmother, but never got around to asking. When it comes to procrastinating, we are veritable experts. We are actually planning to write a book about procrastination, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet. See what I did there? 

Two weeks ago I decided enough is enough. We’ve got to make this godparenting thing official! So I explained to Hurricane what godparents are, and asked her if there was anyone she would like to be her godparents. 

She jumped up and down (as she does when she’s excited) and repeatedly shouted, “Aunty Alewat and Uncle T!” 

Good choice, good choice. Seeing her that excited made me realize that I didn’t need to make this godparent thing official, I needed to make it special. 

I immediately went into event planning mode! Event planning happens to be one of my secret super-powers. 

Step One: The set-up. I told Hurricane it would be nice if she asked them herself, so we did an impromptu photoshoot and recorded a video of her asking her aunt and uncle to become her godparents. I got everyone excited for this completely made up “godparenting ceremony” that I was planning. I love that after years of me being just plain extra, my family and friends tend to go along with whatever pops into my head. 

Step Two: The invitations and guest list. I’m a big fan of printing and mailing invitations, but in the interest of time and the environment I whipped something together using the Canva app. It’s a great app to use for small projects or time sensitive events. Because of Covid restrictions this was inevitably going to be a small event, so there were only three people invited. 

Step Three: The hype! Hurricane is pretty hype without my input, but I decided to turn up the excitement with her this time. We started a daily countdown; she picked her outfit (and mine); she decided on decor (which I vetoed); we made up a song about godparents; and discussed options for dessert. 

Step Four: The Menu. Between the five adults in attendance there are a bunch of food intolerances and dislikes, so it worked in my favor to keep the food very simple. All bets were off when it came to dessert though! We had berry Chantilly cake, cookies by Tiff’s Treats, gelato, and gourmet puff puff by Adun, Houston. 

Step Five: The Details. I chose to start the celebration off with a ceremony focused on Alewat, T and Hurricane’s devotion to each other. My mom stood in as the officiant, giving us a short pep-talk on the responsibilities of godparents. Chief joined MisterE and Me as a witness to the exchange of promises. 

Hurricane had requested balloons, so we blew a few up to decorate the fireplace. I added fresh flowers to the table, and threw a tablecloth over our well-loved, rustic dining table. 

After that, it was just a matter of spending time together and enjoying the conversation. We ate our fill, drank to the good times, and all enjoyed cuddles with the kids. 

It is so special seeing the love that these three have for each other, and I look forward to watching their relationship blossom. 

Coming soon to the blog — I’m putting together an event planning guide for all my subscribers! It’ll be an e-book with a step-by-step outline to personalizing any event you’re organizing, from a sports viewing party to an all out wedding. 

Let me know if you’d be interested in receiving a copy, or subscribe to the blog so you can be first to get your hands on it! 

So; how did you decide on godparents for your children, and what role do they play in your children’s lives? I’d love to know!

Have fun!