My family enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving in Door County. This has now become a tradition (2 years makes a tradition, right?) for the family and we all enjoy it so much. We rent a condo and make our meal in our jammies while the kids swim and enjoy the company of cousins. While I only missed the Black Friday chaos a bit, we did do some shopping of our own at the many little stores you can find in each quaint town of the DC area. My husband and I decided to invest in a beautiful new nativity. We do have two others--one from my mom from back in her "ceramic" days. It has great sentimental value, but the blueish glaze of each of the lifeless pieces has been retired to the rec room decorations (don't tell mom). So, we found a beautiful one and it was 50% off as well! A Black Friday sale, even away from the chaos, I love it! We get our carefully wrapped purchase home. The kids and I unwrap each piece to place it on the place of honor...our front foyer table. With each piece we ooohhhh and aaahhhhh and place them within their scene. Finally, we are down to the final piece to unwrap, very fitting, as the piece we still need is baby Jesus. We unwrap him carefully but then stare and it and each other with a look of confusion and panic. There in my hands is a CHICAGO BEARS CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT!! And not just any ornament, but a jingle bell, flashing light, UGLY ornament! My little son almost loses his mind. "Ewwww, it's a Bears ornament, throw it away!" I can't believe my eyes. I laugh at the irony of it all. And then I can't stop laughing! To the point that my children now find me to be a bit on the crazy side (nothing new there). I am laughing because I can only imagine the look on the face of the Bears fan who ended up with MY baby Jesus in its place. It is all too funny for words.
I called the shop. Of course, it was the LAST nativity of that kind. They are so sorry for the mix up. They are sending a full refund. So, here I sit. A Catholic school principal and a woman deeply rooted in my Catholic faith and I have...no Jesus. Luckily I have all of Advent to search for Jesus. Certainly, whether he comes in the form of a baby for my nativity, I do know that he will come! In the meantime, does anyone have a small baby Jesus they could share?
