It's been an odd day. Feels like we got an extra Saturday. The somewhat surprise snow fall cancelled classes, so the kids were out of school today. Not much else was happening, so we stayed in, slept late, snuggled, and had a late breakfast.
The morning appointment I had scheduled to translate for a man in Tappahannock got cancelled, and other than that the only thing on the schedule was to help Abraham fill out an application for work at the employment commission office up in town. I got done with that about 2:30, and came back home.
Pulling into the driveway I decided to go ahead and start the breakdown of the nativity scene that we've had in front of the church since the end of November. I was pretty well bundled up, which was good, since it was still cold enough for the snow to be pure powder even that late in the day. Someone, most likely Soozin, had moved all the figures into the stable itself, probably in an effort to keep them from being blown down or across the yard, so they were all together, in a semi-circle around the manger with the baby Jesus figure in it.
The figures are nearly life-size ... think preteens and youth in hollow plastic with rocks or bricks in them for ballast ... not heavy, but bulky. Gloves kept my hands mostly warm, but some of the snow that was blowing earlier in the morning had stuck to the faces or backs or arms of the figures. The first ... one of the shepherds. He had a staff, as I recall. Then came a couple of animals - a donkey and a calf, I think... then came... Joseph? He had been face down between Mary and the manger, so he had a good bit of snow on him, but he was okay. As I walked down the hill towards the storage shed where we keep them, I heard the window open either in the kitchen or the dining room, and Leslie called out "That's the father of God you're carrying! Be careful with him!" ... I grinned at her as best I could, while holding a bulky plastic figure... it was a good five minutes later when I thought of the perfect response: "I promise he won't feel a thing!" ...
Most of the human figures had beards, but Mary was the only one without one, besides Jesus. For that reason, she was the only one who had a chin. One of the wise men had a hole in his back where the lightbulb is inserted, but the housing for the lightbulb had come out somehow over the years... it made for an easy handhold. Otherwise, I found myself manhandling them down the hill. The cold had it's predictable effect on my ears (fortunately I had a hat on to keep my balding pate relatively warm), as well as my nose ...
When I did finally get around to picking Mary up, I simply reached down and grabbed her by the chin, and it was a perfect grip, a perfect fit. The weight of the bricks and rocks in her base kept her upright, and with just the pressure of my fingers I was able to carry her down the hill and set her down in front of the shed.
When I had finally gotten all the figures down the hill I opened the doors to the shed and stepped in to survey the area where I was going to store them. spacious shelves, about 8 feet long by 2 or 3 feet deep on one side, and 10 feet long on the adjoining side, forming a corner, two levels... plenty of room.
When I finally finished stacking them in place, they seemed a little forlorn, a little ... shabby. The church has had them since a few years before we came, so that means at least 7 years. Time and the sun and weather have taken their toll on the plastic. Faded colors in places, brittle in others. We began talking about replacing them this fall, but weren't able to before the season came upon us, so we will be looking for something new this spring or over the summer.
I stepped back up to the frame of the stable to see how it has been put together. It is a spare frame, with one by two's simply giving the suggestion of the outline of the building. Still, they are all labeled, top right front, top left front, bottom left back, etc. It's good to know we've got people who are organized enough that way to be able to prepare for the next year by looking ahead to what will need to be done.
This year, I believe, will prove to be an interesting one. It seems something is in the air ... change, perhaps. (I hope for the better!)
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