That naughty Marmitetoasty sent me a link of awful nativity scenes, The Cavalcade of Bad Nativities or It Came Upon The Midnight Weird. This site has it all; in a word, stunning. Got me thinking though; I wondered what my personal nativity scene looked like and when the snow settled here is what I saw:


Some people say Mary is wearing black mink, a Hermes scarf, a Chanel handbag, Prada heels or Tory Burch flats, rubies and diamonds from India and Florentine gold. Truth is, in my personal nativity scene Mary is wearing a Boston hoodie; Gonzaga Prep sweats; adidas runners; wool socks (Mary gets so cold); a beanie pulled way down over her head and the ever present Oakleys with no make up or no nail polish. Everybody can agree that Mary looks tired, but is optimistic, works hard and is proud of her child.

Joseph is wearing Carrharts, a Griz ball cap, a Fordham sweatshirt, Sorrels, and his father's beat up Timex watch which is by any calculation, 40 years old. He does anything anybody asks him to do and always has one eye on the Christ Child, who is blond and blue-eyed; she has gorgeous golden curls. He has the prettiest eyes any child has ever known and He has a smile than can light up any room. Just like his dad. The Christ Child is funny, fun, athletic and sharp; a great cook, loves music and art, has scads of friends; values alone time; naps; and listening to the car radio. The Christ Child sleeps in a pine forrest close by a river in the bed of a navy blue 1963 Chevrolet C-10 pick up truck, in Egyptian cotton sheets, 1000 count, with an afghan knit by Grandma and plenty of down pillows. The Christ Child has too many clothes, never enough books and racks up miles and miles in each and every day.

The stable animals are primarily Chows; but there's a Sheltie there; also a black, happy, friendly dog who came from Santa's just for this Christmas Eve; there's a sweet, sweet Puss, lots of black and white cats and two enormous American Bulldogs. Also present in this nativity scene are bear and moose, birds of all kinds, quail, bees, dragon flies, butterflies, lady bugs, deer, and a flock of brilliant red cardinals.

The wise men are Thomas Merton, William Shakespeare, and Kathryn Graham. They bring wit, wisdom, faith and courage to the Christ Child, who surely will need all that in this life. The shepherds are Ghandi, Ignatius Loyola, Benjamin Franklin, Clara Barton and Eleanor Roosevelt. Their flocks are the poor, the sick, the addicted, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the angry, the penitent and the weary. All come in great interest and anticipation and enter into a lively, respectful conversation full of ideas, innovations, patience and understanding.

They listen to everything from the Ronettes to Tchkaikowski to Bob Seger. They are drinking Framboise, heck it's Christmas eve, and nibbling on smoked salmon and capers but are secretly hoping for a bowl of Cheerios with non-fat milk. Santa shows up; they welcome him and congratulate him on his service to mankind. They are lovers, not fighters. And especially tonight, when millions of stars dazzle in The Big Sky.

It is a beautiful, peaceful, and calm navy blue night. On this night, nobody's got somebody they love in a war across the world; nobody's out of job; nobody's worried about making their mortgage. Nobody's separated from their family by hurt, anger or stubborn pride. Everybody can laugh, say something nice about everybody else and relate something that they are really looking forward to. The strawberries are sweet and juicy, the river runs crystal clear and deep and the roses bloom with heavy perfume. It is that one night a year where the heavens open up and sing and all can agree, all can agree, that tonight joy is the only order of business.


JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA