Before the phone call from my sister-in-law, I had been talking to my sister about religion. Specifically, the fact that we were brought up in a Lutheran household, and have long carried the guilt that goes along with being raised that way. We talked about our kids, and what we should tell them as far as religion is concerned. Her kids are almost 11 and 13, so they are asking the deep questions. I still have some time as mine isn't even 1 yet.
Or so I thought.
It is a serious topic of discussion for my mother about when I am going to get JJ baptized. To be honest, I have been avoiding it. I don't want to pick Godparents as I don't want to alienate anyone, and I don't want to pick anyone because they think it is a given that they will be. I also don't want to talk to the pastor at the church I belong to, because I rarely go, and JJ's dad and I are not married but are living together. These are all things that are frowned upon in church life. To me, this event is more of a ritual than anything. Depending on who I pick, the Godparents would not necessarily be the same people that would raise JJ if I met an early demise. Again, as with making all necessary medical decisions for JJ, I need to just bite the bullet and do this.
My sister says that she has something to tell me, and that I am sworn to secrecy. Hmm - ok. She proceeds to tell me that our mother has baptized my son in the kitchen sink because she didn't want him to go any longer without it being done.
I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or be mad. Does my mother really think it is her right as a Christian to just go ahead and baptize him because I haven't done it yet? Would she just pluck an atheist's kid from the crowd and baptize him because the parents hadn't? What if I had decided I wasn't going to do it? Oh well, mom took care of that for me.
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