Ex-Godmother

Can you fire one of your godparents? Has anyone ever done that? Is it like a job? If they’re not fulfilling the requirements of the position, can you move on and fill it with someone more qualified?

We chose Troy’s godmother, because she was very caring and loving toward her own kids. She’s smart, sweet, and most of all a Christian. But she’s also flaky, inattentive, and virtually non-existent. All the things we loved about how she treated her own family didn’t extend beyond to Troy. Even though she’s only 20 min away, she makes little to no effort to try to see Troy. And even if she makes plans, she always finds a way to “get out” of them.

For example, the day after Troy broke his wrist, she was supposed to come over and see him. But when she found out he’d broken his wrist, she decided to go do something else instead. He was feeling down, scared and unsure, and suddenly being told that he couldn’t play like he used to. He could have used some focus time to cheer him up, but because it wasn’t the best situation for her, she flaked out.

There are many other examples, but I think this illustrates my point. So, I want to trade her in, decommission her, fire her; but it’s been three and a half years. Is there a probationary period, and have we passed it? Are godparent choices for forever? This is unchartered territory for me.

I realize that there is nothing legally binding about this title, but you’re supposed to take it seriously, right? I mean this is a person that you chose to take care of your child in the unlikely event that something suddenly brings about your demise. And since my son is the most important thing to me, I don’t want him to end up with substandard care because of tradition. I want someone that truly adores him like I do.

I think I’ve answered my own question. Now, do I need to formally inform this person, or can I simply replace her with the assumption that she won’t really care anyway, as her actions have shown? Kind of pull the Milton from Office Space on her…move her to the basement and cut off her paycheck…let it sort itself out.