First Communicant in Black

It's hard to believe, but that little baby boy of mine is quickly approaching his First Communion. April 13th, to be exact. Where has the time gone? I thought he was born just a couple of years ago...

But I digress. In keeping with the eccentric qualities of most of the members of my family (I think they get it from my side!), J.P., my John Patrick, has decided that he wants to wear a black suit for his First Communion formal wear. Not so odd, you say? Hey, I'm not finished. He also wants to wear a black dress shirt and a black tie along with black dress shoes. Yes, black from head to toe. Um, why does my boy want to wear all black while he receives one of the Sacraments of the Church, you may ask? Is he a Goth child? An anti-Christ wannabe? The black sheep, so to speak, among a sea of white frilly First Communicant little girls?

None of the above, actually. He's a Johnny Cash fan. He wants to be The Man in Black during his First Communion. Oh, and he wants a pair of dark sunglasses and a black fedora so that afterwards, he can be the "skinny guy" from the Blues Brothers.

I haven't decided if we're raising him right or contributing to the need for extensive therapy when he's grown up. At any rate, at least nobody can accuse us of being too conventional.