Advent Meditations

What is about Christmas that leads us to keep all manner of kitschy knick knacks, the like of which we would never entertain even selling at a yard sale (for fear of social stigma)?

So last night we unpacked the boxes and boxes of Christmas Crap, and after Jaelyn and Addison tried on their Christmas stockings, we decorated the tree while J & A decorated the stable. A red disco ball hangs just over the Broken Baby Jesus and the motif for stables this year (apparently) is *not* hay, but volumes of red bulbs whose hooks have disappeared. Addison looked wistfully down the steps before he ascended to bed last night and said:

"It's Bootiful!"

and just so we knew that he *wasn't* talking about the tree, he turned to me and said:

"our stable is way coo'er than the Christmas Tree!" (mid-word L's are still too difficult, but they don't, apparently inhibit his ability to delivery his holiday cheer in the tone of Trash-Talking. His assessment of the relative goodness of the stable vs. christmas tree felt like fighting words...)

...

so this morning Kitchmas Kollectible #277 -- a Father Christmas Head (no body) with a five inch long swirling beard -- started playing a strange new game of tag with the very-tiny-but-at-least-not-broken-baby-Jesus. J. correctly recognized that he looked more like Gandalf than any Santa that she had seen. So she immediately endowed him with magical powers. Soon afterwards Father Gandalf Christmas started chasing the cute-mouse-ornament and the v.t.b.a.l.n.b.b.Jesus trying to give them magical healing kisses (vtJesus was squalling incessantly, because?....that's what babies do?). But once the bodyless wizard started chasing Baby Jesus, the Holy Infant became downright impish. Hiding behind the wizards head every time he tried to turn and find him, and then taunting him everytime he escaped.

Baby Jesus the Trickster.

And then I thought to myself : but seriously think about what that teaches us about Advent!....







No. I didn't think that at all. I just thought the adventures of Baby Jesus the Trickster might make for an interesting new serial on the BackBurner....

hope your Saturday is as Chill as ours -- minus the stacks of grading...

peace~