Center Stage

So... a couple weeks ago I got a call from the associate pastor at our parish, asking if my family was interested in *starring* in the parish Christmas pageant. Of course we said yes... what an honor to be picked out of all the people in the parish, right? I had forgotten (and Matt neglected to remind me) that when we filled out the religious education volunteer forms to help out with LifeTeen, my very helpful husband checked the "Christmas Pageant" box on my form. Anyway... we're signed up. Last week, I stopped by the office to pick up our costumes. Matt has a brown robe-type thing that definitely isn't long enough for him, along with a brown vest and a headpiece of sorts. Mine... I'm not even sure. I have a large piece of blue fabric with a huge hole torn in the middle, a smaller piece of white with a similar hole in the middle, and two small blue cloths. And a white and gold rope. I will admit I'm a bit at a loss what to do with this collection of materials, but I'm working on a solution to make it look sort of garment-like (really... what happened to sheets and togas?).

Last night, then, we had our rehearsal. Fortunately, Henry was in a decently good mood the whole time (let's hope we can repeat that on Sunday!). I won't go into all the details of the evening, but do ask me about it when you see me next. It was pretty special. Our part is pretty easy; we basically have to enter and then sit center stage while the shepherds and wise men and angels do their stuff. The funny part for us is our entrance.

Father S., who is in charge of the pageant for the first time, would like us to enter from the center aisle. At this point, I'm supposed to be pregnant while we travel to Bethlehem. And Henry? "Hide him under your clothes," Fr. S tells me, "and just go sit in the chair up there." Um... right. As Matt and I walked up the aisle, I'm thinking... "And then I have to give birth in front of everyone? Is that how it goes next?" But no. Fr. S tells that I just need to sit down in the chair and when I turn around, Henry will be in my arms. Just like that. Weirdness aside, how is this even supposed to work? All of you with babies can probably understand my dilemma. 1- how do I hide a baby under my clothes while walking up the aisle? (if he's not sleeping, this could be very interesting) and 2- even if I manage to rig something up, I don't see how I'll be able to just pull him out while I turn around and sit. At this point it might be of interest to note that this is the first time the pageant will involve a real baby. Can you tell?

So... this is going to be interesting. Those of you that live around here, you should definitely come watch. And the rest of you... make sure to ask us about it when we come to MI for Christmas. I do wish you could be here to join in the fun.