Caroline talks to Father

Our church has coffee and doughnuts downstairs after Mass each week. That is where these photos were taken, with my husband's phone (hence the poor quality). After Mass today, Father Paul said hello to us and wished us a happy Thanksgiving. Chris shook his hand. Caroline said she wanted to shake his hand too, but by that time we were already on the stairs and Father had moved across the vestibule. Now, this is Caroline we're talking about... shy Caroline who doesn't even like to say some of the names of members of her extended family (she accidentally said "Andrew" the other day while we were buying him a Christmas present!), and who is terrified of Speedy and Keenan who work with Chris... she hides whenever she sees them, she holds Cecilia's hand in an effort to protect her when they get too close for her comfort.

But apparently there's something about Father Paul that she likes. Maybe kids can sense holiness or something. When he came downstairs, she said she wanted to go talk to him, so I said, "Okay," and scooted her chair out so she could get up. And, to our surprise, she got up and immediately went over to him and they had a conversation for several minutes. Apparently he asked her if she was having turkey for Thanksgiving, because she came over to Chris and asked, "Daddy, is your mom making turkey for Thanksgiving?" Father Paul isn't even our parish priest... but he says Mass often at our church, probably once a month or more. Our regular pastor has joked that Father Paul is our associate pastor.

And a funny note: Chris was talking to her after this and mentioned that Father Paul squatted down to talk to kids since he's so much taller than them, and Caroline said, "Yes, I got down on my knees too to talk to him because I am very tall." She *is* quite tall for her age, actually!