I don’t have one superior story for today but here are a few laughs about our month of December:
A couple of weeks ago, N announced that he wouldn’t be praying again until Christmas. Even through gentle probing and explanations at Jesus’s desire to hear from him, N has remained firm. Throughout the day, at mealtimes and bedtime, we give him the opportunity sometimes saying, “How would you feel if I decided not to talk to you until your birthday?” But, to no avail. The answer is always the same. “I’m not praying till Christmas.” This Christmas prayer should be interesting.
N’s preschool Christmas pageant was last week. The cast was all 3 and 4 year olds and I am utterly amazed that the teachers were able to organize, teach and execute such a great program. The one thing they couldn’t prepare for? Joseph projectile vomiting front and center stage, just after saying one line of the evening. Well, actually maybe he was supposed to have more lines; we’ll never know. The audience erupted in whispers of “oh my gosh” and “poor kid” as the teachers scrambled to remedy the situation. Someone ushered Joseph off as everyone watched his every move to make sure there wasn’t a round two on the way. Another quick thinker grabbed baby Jesus’s swaddling clothes and threw them over the splatter of throw up now at center stage. The show went on, kids stepping around the blanket to come forward and do their part. Until a teacher came on stage who had somehow missed the vomiting portion of the show. She just saw naked baby Jesus and his clothes on the ground and thought she too should fix things fast. She ripped the blanket off the ground much to the dismay of the audience and the program director as the gasps began again. The show stopped while she, along with a couple of other teachers, once again arranged Jesus’s clothes. Despite the excitement, N did a great job as a shepard. He was so excited about his role and practiced looking frightened at the angels all week. At one point he said, “I think I’ll use my staff and beat up the angels to protect the other shepherds.” Fortunately, 3 and 4-year-old teachers are smart enough not to give their shepherds staffs so the angels were safe.
The Shepards before the show.
Lastly in news around our home, our fish Nemo (also previously known as Bluey and Mrs. Debbie but most currently known as Nemo) has been on a 13 day fast. This is one spiritual fish, preparing for the coming of our Lord. Or, he may just have an eye infection since one eye is swollen, puffy and huge. We’ve looked for Beta eye drops at the advice of our animal loving friend, Cliff , but had no luck. We’ve debated putting him out of his misery and doing a secret switcharoo but can’t bring ourselves to do it. Mainly because our motives are selfish: we don’t want the kids waking up one morning and asking why Nemo is doing the backstroke. This doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to kill a fish who is still swimming, even if he isn’t eating. Maybe he’s just waiting till Christmas to eat like N is waiting to pray.
