kiwords

Today was the Nativity play at church. By the way, if you’ve been keeping notes, yes we left our church, and yes we’ve seemed to have found a new one. It’s fabulous in many respects, but after the “breakup” I’m not sure I’m ready to commit.
But I was ready to let the kids be in the play.
Oh, so sweet. Tre was a wise man, Max was Joseph, and Raphael was a donkey. Although if you ask him, he’ll tell you he was a dog, because he’s pretty sure everyone was calling him a doggy.
Tre did a stellar job, manfully striding to his appointed spots on cue, clutching his bottle of frankincense. He looked purposeful, embarrassed, and proud by turns. He didn’t even tug at his crown too much, even though it was so hot under there that his hair was damp with sweat by the time the play was over.
Max was something of a somber Joseph. He was tired and wanted to go home, so he sort of stomped his way through his part. I’m not sure why they chose him to be Joseph, since he’s a good foot shorter than Mary, but it worked out fine. I was nervous that he might decide to reprise the performance he gave at the school production last Monday. He had been on stage, right in the middle of the adorable huddle of wee preschoolers, and had decided to pull his shirt up and scratch his belly, then do a little dance with gyrating hips and waving arms. Then he went back to the belly scratch, then (not noticing or caring that his shirt was still hiked up to his chest), he reached back and grabbed vigorously at his underwear, which was apparently bothering him in some way. Fortunately for the dignity of the event today, Max did none of that.
Raphael was a hit in his furry little donkey costume with ears. I mean that both literally and figuratively. No one could resist his charm. However at one point when he was milling around the stable he tried to take the little sheep’s precious stuffed dog away. She wouldn’t give it to him, and he responded by hauling off and whacking her one. Then he turned and trotted back to me, announcing, “Ah don’ wanna play with the kids enny more.”
But we’ve survived another Christmas pageant, and tonight we finally got our tree decorated. My shopping is…almost done, and the baking is a good halfway there. I’ve been fairly relaxed about this Christmas, yet I find it’s mostly coming together anyhow. Go figure.