The keeper left us last night and headed to Issaquah to the first of the Masses for the virgin of Guadalupe. It was very simple, but a lot of new people showed up and she had a wonderful time at the reception meeting people and finding new people to start projects. But she headed off into the starry night back to Bothell where she connected with all of the folks who had just finished their Mass and were eating but were also starting an all night vigil which would end at 5 am with Mananitas (the morning salutation prayer to the virgin) in the church. She said they showed her all of their new handmade dance headpieces and told her how good their story telling had been this year.
After visiting there, she headed to Bellevue and found the St. Louise crowd heading down after their Mass to the hall for the play and for sweet bread and hot chocolate. They had so much sweet bread that they sent
boxes of it back with her to Bothell for the all night visitors.
Before she left Bellevue, after greetings hundreds of her favorite people, she stopped in for the Midnight mananitas in the church above the hall, and it was standing room only all the way to the curb while the mariachis sang their praise and love to the virgin, children and men crawling on their knees through the crowd to place their roses at the feet of the image of the virgin. There must have been 2000 people all standing quietly, while more poured in, many just getting off of work, but all carrying bouquets of roses.
She landed back in Bothell around 1 am with the bread and the vigils were preparing pozole, tamales, and hot chocolate. She sat in the church for a while. Parents had made beds for children in the pews, groups were singing heart felt songs (albeit off key) and praying the rosary at the image of the virgin, others were lying prostrate in from of the Blessed Sacrament. Others sat out in the narthex chatting quietly. She left around 2, with a promise to return for the 5 am mananitas.
We were happy to see her. We get anxious when she doesn't come home at night, and we had opened some boxes of Christmas ornaments and had strewn the packing paper all over the living room to express our anxieties.
We have a confession to make: When her alarm went off at 4:30, we didn't budge or bother her, we just ignored the sound and her. She slept until 9, missing the mananitas at 5. She had to work the rest of the afternoon, so we thought we made a good choice for her.
It is supposed to snow. The sky is still pretty clear though. when it snows she stays home with us. And we are happy.
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