Hey! Unto you a child is born! SHAZAM!

I think most of you know Abby's high school play is this weekend. She'll be playing the part of Gladys Herdman in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". Gladys is a mean, bratty, five year old street urchin who plays the Angel of the Lord in the church pageant. One of the final lines in the play is, "Hey! Unto you a child is born! SHAZAM!". Hence the title of this post :-)

I am reading this book aloud to my class at school. It's a funny story about a family of rotten kids who hijack all the main roles in the church Christmas pageant (they got these roles through intimidation and coercion). After all the shenanigans (Stealing from the collection plate, drinking the communion wine and smoking cigars in the ladies room), the pageant ends up being the best ever (of course). The end of the book is very touching and as I was finishing it up with my class today, I got a lump in my throat. I got slightly choked up, but the kids didn't notice. I think if I had shed a tear, the kids probably wouldn't have understood anyway. I'm glad I didn't have to explain why I might have cried at the end of the story.

I'm looking forward to the play this weekend. I must also say I am happy a public school is putting on a play that includes the biblical account of Jesus' birth. It's done in a lighthearted, funny way, but the story is still there.

Merry CHRIST-mas, everyone!

And oh yeah... "HEY! UNTO YOU A CHILD IS BORN! SHAZAM!"