Honoring God and Fathers

What a beautiful day. I think the weather was even better than yesterday. I packed almost everything last night; turned out the lights around 1:00 am. My goal was to get up by 8:00, pack the cold stuff and incidentals, shower and go to 11:00 am Mass in Williamsburg. Kristen asked us to ride down to Va Beach (1.5 hr drive one way) and see the kids before we went home. I was hoping we might see Mancil as well but it did not work out. By 6:30, I was awake. We finished all our departure preps, got everything in the car and found a 9:00 Mass at St. Jerome’s Church in Newport News. Made it with 5 minutes to spare. It was a more modern church with a flutist and trumpet player accompanying the piano, very beautiful music. Fathers were invited to the front of the church at the end of Mass for a special blessing. It is Corpus Christi Sunday and, as is tradition at some parishes, after Mass, the congregation sang a solemn chant and followed the priest who carried the Monstrance in procession around parts of the church property. Kristen called and offered to take hubby out for Father’s Day brunch. We settled on a cookout at their camp site. After a delicious lunch, we sat in the nice breeze and simply enjoyed each other’s company. Charlie entertained us until we left around 5:00 pm. We were invited to spend the night but hubby is involved with prayers for a 98 year old Knight tomorrow and certainly does not want to miss that. Traffic is pretty good so far but there is usually a terrible back up in Hampton Roads and Dahlgren. Since tomorrow is a federal holiday, maybe less folks will be traveling home from the beach. If all goes well, we should be home by 9:30. We could have skipped the trip to the campground but Kristen wanted to do something for hubby. He was touched by her thoughtfulness so we made the extra effort. The kids were very understanding about missing a day on the beach so we could celebrate their Dad and Granddad. That’s what you do for family. Plus, they have six more vacation days. Hoping your Sunday was a great one as well. Thanks for the visit. No news until we are back home tomorrow. Stay safe. “There's only one thing more precious than our time and that's what we spend it on.” - Leo Christopher