She's an angel

I recall, very clearly, being the donkey in the Christmas program when I was in first grade. I recall walking around the church staring at my feet, though I don't remember which end I was (that I remember staring at my feet is probably pretty telling). I really just wanted to be a pretty angel, but did not get the nod. When second grade came, I thought surely I would get to be an angel that year, but, no, I ended up being a reader. I remember being mad that Heidi, who peed her pants in first grade, got to be an angel. I seem to recall one girl in my class got to be an angel two years. Me? I never wore the silver tinsel halo or white cardboard wings.

I was relaying this story to some friends while out to lunch yesterday. I said I had not thought about it in years, but once I found out that Jordan's kindergarten class was doing the Nativity, all the memories came rushing back. I joked that I was going to email Jordan's teacher, begging her to let Jordan be an angel. So imagine my joy when I came home from work yesterday and Brian held up the script from the Nativity play, and "Angel" was highlighted.

Brian, clearly having never gone through my experience, was mad that Jordan had one speaking line, whereas one of her classmates was going to be Mary, with many lines. Another girl was the narrator with even more lines. Brian asked Jordan why this girl got to be the narrator, and Jordan said it was because she could read. It is surprising to me that a girl in kindergarten can read already. (Couldn't she have skipped K and gone right into first grade?) And sure, I am mildly curious as to why Jordan was not picked for one of the two-line parts, though not quite thinking or worrying, as Brian is, that it was because Jordan was not smart.

But come December 19, I am just going to be a proud mother, eyes welling with tears, living out one of her never realized dreams through her five year old. Good times!