I wish I could say we thought long and hard about choosing godparents for each of our children, but it’s simpler than that. Before our babies are even born, we know instinctively who we will choose. It’s almost as if God whispers their names in our ears and we respond, “Yes! He’s the one. Yes! She’s the one.”
In keeping with Catholic tradition, our children have always had at least one Catholic godparent, often a family member. Most importantly, godparents are people who demonstrate the values we wish to instill upon our children. They work hard in their daily lives to make the world healthier, safer, kinder, closer, cooler, warmer, and brighter. They lift our spirits whenever they’re around.
We always wait until after our babies make their way into the world before asking the godparents if they’ll take on this special role in our child’s life. Sometimes it’s a picture frame. Sometimes it’s a card. Sometimes it’s over a nice dinner. But, this time, we couldn’t wait. So, when Teagan’s godparents came to visit us in the hospital, we had to ask right then and there if they’d guide our daughter on a life long journey of faith. After all, they’ve stuck with God through some crazy twists and turns.
Carrie and Buddy are our first godparents who are a couple. I’ve known Carrie since birth (she’s my cousin). In fact, we even attended preschool together at St. Michael’s Overlea.
Carrie (L), Katie A. (M), Me (R)
She continued there, but my family moved away. We stayed close by visiting each other often and spending two weeks together each summer on vacations we’ll never forget. During her senior year at Institute of Notre Dame, Carrie became pregnant. She chose life, and her boyfriend, Buddy, chose to stick around.
My family fell in love with Buddy from the moment we met him. Friendly and funny, he hardly seemed like the typical tough guy police officer. But, he worked hard to graduate from the police academy and put on the Baltimore County Police Department uniform.
(Side note: he also trained hard for an obstacle race and triathlon with Patrick and some other family members.)
They were married in 2001. Carrie and Buddy now have two children whom I absolutely adore. They work hard to send their daughter to Catholic High and their son to St. Michael’s. On the baseball and softball diamonds, Carrie and Buddy are their biggest fans. Unless, of course, you factor in two sets of loving grandparents, my Uncle Tom and Aunt Judy and Buddy’s parents, Cliff and Kathy. Because of them, Carrie and Buddy have learned how to be great parents.
Part of the reason we think God led us to Carrie and Buddy as godparents is because we can learn a lot from them about being good parents, ourselves. They relentlessly ensure that all of their children’s physical, mental, social, and emotional needs are being met and refuse to give up. They ask for outside help when they need it. They go on fun outings together to amusement parks and concerts. They even open their homes to their kids’ friends, including those who live far away and need a place to stay for a week.
Even though their children are getting older, Carrie and Buddy keep their family close to each other and close to God. They’re models of caring, models of faith, and models of what it means to be good human beings with kind, gentle hearts. That’s what we want Teagan to learn from them.
It’s funny that Carrie was visiting when I was pregnant with Teagan and she said she wished she had a little baby girl to dress up. I already know that I wanted Carrie to be Teagan’s godmother, so I laughed a little bit on the inside. Of course, Carrie has already spoiled Teagan with dresses and bows, but more than that, I know that she will teach her how to be a woman of Christ. Lord knows, she teaches me.
