I woke up to this:
And it so reminded me of the time I was in like 4th or 5th grade or something and finally got a crack at the part of Mary in the Christmas Pageant at our church. Normally this older girl ALWAYS got the part, cuz like Alice Wendlekin, she was the perfect picture of the Virgin Mary, well, that and she was the oldest girl in the class. But this particular year, the guys picked the equivalent of Screech to play Joseph, and “Alice” refused to be anywhere near the boy.
The Sunday School teacher didn’t tell me ahead of time who was Joseph, but realy it wouldn’t have mattered. I got to be Mary. That was such a big deal, ya’ll have no idea. I mean, all I had to do was walk up the isle with Joseph, pull the baby doll out of the hiding spot and drop him in the manager at a certain time, and stand next to the manger while the Christmas Story was read and songs were sung. Then the day of the pageant arrived.
Just before I was supposed to go on stage, Mom pulled me aside. “___ is sick. He may need to sit down. I just heard his dad tell him that if he feels like he’s gonna pass out, he should sit on his knees. And if he needs to barf, he should get off the stage through the choir loft door. I just want to let you know so you aren’t surprised or anything if he runs off the stage.” Great. And off we went.
We actually got through most of the pageant. Although Joseph kept turning various shades of yellow and green. Then he broke out in a sweat and started swaying. Just as Mary “delivered” the baby (read: Got the doll out from behind the bush and dropped him in the manger) Joseph hit his knees. I played along and knelt down too, and when the lights came back up, there was Mary and Joseph kneeling besides the manger. Joseph wasn’t doing so hot though. He kept swaying, and caught himself a few times before he went completely over. Then, about 3 songs before the end, he abruptly ran out the choir loft door, leaving Mary alone at the manger. The Pageant ended and Joseph skipped the after-party.
Years later, we still joke about the time Mary was a single mother. It was one of my best Christmas’s ever, because, Dude! I got to be Mary! So what if Joseph got sick and left Mary hangin’… That just makes it more memorable. Because, Dude!! I got to be Mary! WOOHOO!
1 thought on “and then Mary was a single mother…”