I baptize thee 2011

Baptism seems like an appropriate metaphor for a new year. This is a young woman of my acquaintance, on the occasion of her christening in 1995.

I always liked this picture because of the way it caught the waters flowing across her forehead, and because she looked so serene during the ceremony, unlike most infants of my experience.

Since I'm on the subject, here are a few pictures from my own baptism, back in the Fifties. I rarely saw my father in civilian clothes, and I don't remember ever seeing him in a suit. He's a stranger.

As for my mother, I'm tempted to pretend I don't recognize her either so I don't have to admit to being related to that hat.