Sunday, December 13, 2015

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Last night we had plans to meet my sister and brother-in-law for dinner and afterwards go to one of those drive through Christmas light displays near their home. Originally it was going to be just the four of us, but then Daughter2 decided to join the party and my niece said she'd come too, which we were happy about because it's not often we all have dinner together, but it did mean we'd need two cars.

The drive-through light experience was not cheap. In fact it was the opposite of cheap, but it was one of those things I got in my head I wanted to do, and hubs didn't actually know how much it cost until we were already en route, so yeah. Christmas lights set to music. I needed to see them. 

We had dinner at a favorite little barbecue place, then climbed in the cars to drive about a mile down the road to the park entrance. Hubs and I didn't know where we were going, but my niece assured us it was 'just up the street on the left.' We said we'd follow them, but then were separated at a traffic light. We figured how hard can it be? I mean it's just up the street, right? 

So we carried on down the road and soon came to a ridiculously long line of traffic snaked around some cones. Hubs reluctantly joined the queue, but not without a lot of sighing first. We proceeded to wait and I texted my sister in her car to see how far ahead of us they were. She tells me they didn't get in that line because she didn't realize you could enter the park there. Hmmm... She thought the entrance was further up the road....hmmmm. She said they'd driven on and were now near another long line of traffic. Oh, and she said they could see Christmas lights. Lots of lights. 

We couldn't actually see any lights which should have been a clue, but I thought since they were making us pay maybe they were set up a good ways back from the road at our entrance. I suggested to hubs maybe we should go on down to where my sis was, but he said he wasn't getting out of line now. 

Let's just say he was not feeling the Christmas spirit.  

So we sat and sat some more and every now and then would inch forward. About 20 minutes into the inching forward we pulled up beside a small sign stuck in the grass that said 'Journey to Bethlehem' (Insert arrow here). Are we in the right line???

We inched forward a bit more and saw another sign pointing the way to Bethlehem, so I repeated my concern that we were possibly maybe not in line for a Christmas light show to which hubs replied, 'Whatever we're in line for is what we're gonna see because I'm not getting out of line now.'

Alrighty then.  

Another few feet, another sign, this one saying turn off your headlights as you enter. I can finally make out the outline of a building and realize we really are about to 'journey to Bethlehem'. The local Methodist church's portrayal of it anyway. We were entering a church's living nativity. Sure enough hubs rolled down the window and a woman clad in costume leaned a little too far into our car and said SHALOM! 

I know it's not supposed to be funny, but y'all it was funny. Hubs did not immediately see the humor, but I pointed out this was going to be one of those stories that we'll see as funny someday in the future. We'll say, 'hey remember that time we sat in line for 45 minutes to see a light show and it turned out to be a church's living nativity?' 

And you know what? Sometimes when you think you need to see a Christmas light display set to music, you discover what you really needed was a quiet car ride through Bethlehem. 

We eventually did make it to the light show. We sat in another ridiculously long line because why not? The light show was just okay. We found the humor because we always do, and hubs said everything about it was what Christmas isn't which might be overstating it, but he's right. It pales in comparison to Bethlehem. 

Most things do. 

9 comments:

  1. Is it wrong for me to laugh at this and to be glad it wasn't us?

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  2. I agree with Judy! LOL Joe and I were just talking tonight about going to a light show later this week. I'll be thinking of you!!

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  3. Thanks for sharing the funny. The irony isn't lost! We have never had to pay for a Christmas light show. And we have some pretty amazing ones here in the town where I live. But, I love a live Christmas nativity too!

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  4. You certainly made a memory!
    The light show in our area is cheesy, would much prefer Bethlehem!

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  5. Even though the light show was not great, it sounds like you had a wonderful time. Enjoy your week!

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  6. We've walked through a nearby church's Bethlehem Village a couple of times and we really love it. I'm glad it all turned out good for you guys.

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  7. Oh sorry but I laughed aloud at this! lol. Probably because I could soo see us on something like this. To include hubs stubbornly sticking to his place in line and not exactly "in the Christmas spirit" There was one of those light displays near our old house and we sat in line inching forward more times then I can count. Eventually it became more a game of seeing how we could outsmart the crowds or get there early enough etc. though. I am surprised you had to pay however...that would have probably stopped us, lol. And there were a few times that the thought was as we drove away, What does that have to do with Christmas anyway? Anyway, glad it turned out!

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  8. Well it sounds as though it was a good day overall with family and friends. Glad you got to the light show in the end.

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  9. Oh my....Mark would never have done that. What a funny story. Glad you eventually got to see the lights too!

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