(Hum a little Willie Nelson as you read)
Bob and Bill? Who are Bob and Bill? you ask. (And, yeah, it looks like Bob brought a friend this year. Sort of flashy in her bright orange, if you ask me. A girl after my own heart!)
Yes, Bob and Bill. They joined the journey to Bethlehem years ago. Joe and Mare (affectionate names given when my babes were wee) begin in Nazareth as we light the first Advent candle. They travel to Bethlehem across windowsills, up and down stairs, (Be careful, Mary. Those stairs are dangerous!) and through the now quiet rooms that once housed my aforementioned wee babes.Ahh, me...
Bill showed up on the stairs next to the weary couple after a St Andrew's Feastday Celebration in Jackson back in...1994?? He had been a party favor nestled in some blue jello. You know--Andrew the fisherman. He dropped on the stairs as we came in that night. And, lo and behold, the next morning he had joined them. He proved himself a faithful traveler, going all the way to the stable with them.
We lost Bob the next year. He was gone, nowhere to be found. Sigh.
It happens. Mary got lost one year. She had been in the windowsill when we had our annual St Nicholas Party. This was back in about 1986. There were lots of adults at this party. Multiply "lots" by 10. That's how many children were there.
Mary was at Elizabeth's we were pretty sure.
Writing the Magnificat.
She??(or something like) showed up in time to give birth, but, Honey, I'm here to tell you, she was lookin' ...
Well...
We used to call it "rode hard and put up wet".(I do know PriestHusband spent some time carving on Christmas Eve. I'm just sayin'.) We later found the much healthier looking, fully revived Mary in the tinkertoys.
Back to Bob.We lost him. BUT! He reappeared on St Nicholas Day! Yup. Found him in our mailbox with a note from the saint himself. He's been with us ever since, and, as you can see, he now has a lady friend.
Bill--not sure if he is the rider or the horse--showed up the next year. He doesn't get lost.
Well. Except that the WHOLE GANG was lost for a week this year. My scattered brain seems to be scattering overtime these days.
Now,we are found.
Now, we travel.
I've been making Advent playlists on Spotify today.Two settings of Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel I share with you, each haunting in their own way.
The first one reminds me of Balm in Gilead from Spitfire Grill..
http://grindingtapes.org/artists/mr_sister/merry_christmas_brother_sister/audio/oh_come_oh_come_emmanuel.mp3
This next one. It's just right. Deep, deep longing.
http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=74750077&ac=now
And now, I am going to Advent Lessons and Carols.
Wait with me.
