Choosing Well.
Aged 8 kids in our Church have to make a very important choice.
Who to ask to be their sponsor? Who to help guide them as they grow up to be (hopefully) well rounded, confident and good members of our society? This person must be someone who will continue to bond with their sponsor child over the coming years and will step in as an extra adult in their life to teach and mold them side by side with their parents.
It's not just a photo shoot on the special night where they have their Confirmation. Its a friend and mentor for the long haul.
Two years ago Gareth chose his Uncle Joe.
Fast forward those two years and Gareth is nearing the end of Primary school and has grown and changed and matured. His teacher set them a homework assignment to write about "What makes a good Role Model" They could model their answer on a person. It could be a sports star, a tv personality, a historical character or someone they know in real life. Gareth decided to write about his Uncle Joe.
What is a good role model? Is it an athlete? Is it a family member? Is it even a good friend? My name is Gareth Baynham and Joe Sheeran is my role model. Joe is my uncle and is a very nice guy who was once sent to Japan because he was so good at his job as an accountant. He was also made one of the youngest ever partners in his company. While living in Japan he survived an earthquake AND a tsunami (by the way the tsunami was caused by the earthquake). When the nuclear power plant exploded and the radiation levels were high he decided to bring his family home to Australia to keep them safe.
Uncle Joe sometimes has to work very long hours sometimes even past 12:00am! He doesn't mind working hard to provide a good life for his wife and children. Uncle Joe still finds time to go to mass which was why I chose him to be my confirmation sponsor. He keeps himself fit and healthy with his favourite sport golf and he encourages his kids to keep fit and healthy as well by bringing them to soccer and watching rugby on TV (wink wink).
He is also very competitive so when it comes to spicy eating Uncle Joe tries to beat my dad (which
isn’t going to happen). On Sunday we went to a fancy chocolate shop and had hot chocolates. Both my dad and Uncle Joe got spicy chilly ones. Joe tried but failed and couldn't finish his (see if you can guess if my dad managed to finish his). That’s why I admire my Uncle Joe and think he is a nice guy/role model.
Obviously I thought it was a great homework assignment and I asked Gareth could I email it to Joe. We got a funny response from Joe and we knew he was probably basking in the glow of such an ego boost. What we didn't expect was to come home from school a week later to find a letter in the post box addressed to Gareth.
He was very excited to open it and see who it was from. It was from Uncle Joe thanking Gareth for his kind words and telling Gareth that he too was a great role model for his younger cousins.
And that's the proof that Gar chose well. Not for the glory on the night. Not for the photos. Not for the lovely pen he was given as a gift in a fancy box. But for that letter that arrived in the letter box. A letter that took a few minutes of someone's time in an already crazy busy day. A few minutes that is helping mold Gareth to grow up to be the best he can be...
So lovely! May have made me tear up a bit... Well chosen Gareth :)
Gareth is one smart boy! How proud you ALL must be!
He did choose well. It sounds like Uncle Joe is a great guy.
Great choice, Gareth. What a great relationship they have :-)