A Foreshadowing? …The Cattle are Glowering.

If any of you had any slight deja vu feelings come over you while reading my Halloween Post (I Love My Husband Even When He’s An…) earlier this week, you weren’t crazy. There is, actually, a possible explanation as to why I would want my husband to dress up as a donkey, and evidence that my husband was actually making my childhood dreams come true to by making me dress as Mary. And so, to explain everything, I offer you this reprint of a post from last year…

…originally posted December 8, 2009

The year was 1987. I was six years old, and there was a huge opportunity coming up that could greatly advance my acting career.

The Homeschool Christmas play.

I desperately desired the part of Mary. There was nothing more in the WORLD that I wanted to do with my life than to play Mary in this ever-prestigious production. I practiced my part in the privacy of my room – looking holy, quiet, and angelic while clasping my hands and adoring my baby doll. I had it down pat.

The day for casting came. I couldn’t wait to find out that I would get chosen for the part as Mary!

They announced – it would be Rachel…Tingles went up my spine…and then they said the last name.

It was another Rachel.

She was two years older than me, with beautiful blond curly hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a perfect Cindy Crawford lip freckle – the kind that we all wanted in the 80’s.

I was devastated. Sure, she was more beautiful than me, but come on, people – we all know that Mary wasn’t a blond!

Was it the freckle? Because I can draw one on.

And then, they announced my role. I made the play all right – I would be… The cow.

Hey – at least I wasn’t the Donkey.

And really, I was lucky NOT to be the Donkey, as it appears that it was in my genes:

I wonder what my Mom’s reaction was when my Dad suggested that costume pairing….

At any rate, back to the play.

My part in the play would be to look on enviously adoringly as Mary portrayed her holy hand-clasped self, and then when Away in a Manger got to the line about “The Cattle are Lowing”, I had my big debut: I was to lay down.

…but I was so distracted by being jealous of Mary that I totally forgot to lay down – the donkey had to remind me. I was completely mortified for the rest of the play at my not meeting my own performance expectations. I didn’t deserve to be Mary.

However, despite my clarity of memory about being a cow, I did NOT remember that I did have another part in the play until I found this picture:I was apparently a violin-playing cow.

I really missed my acting career opportunity – if only I could have gotten on with Chick-Fil-A at the beginning of their cow campaigns, I could have realized my potential after all.

We of course had a wild and crazy after-party, where Mary was looking as smug as ever about her leading role:

Oddly enough, the donkey looked even more smug.

Obviously, she had lower expectations of her acting career than I did.

So, psychologically speaking, I am subconsciously playing out my Donkeyed-Mom’s revenge on my Father by making my husband dress up as a Donkey…despite the fact that he obviously makes all of my Mary-acting dreams come true.