It had been a nonstop week since the baby had been born. Most of the townspeople had come and gone to see what the commotion was about. That star was still hanging around in the sky, remember, so who wouldn’t be a little bit curious, anyway, and just “peek their head in to see”? The baby had been circumcised, as was Jewish tradition, and hopefully, his cut was healing well and without infection. Joseph would have been able to get around the town, by now, too, and bought food at the nearest shop. Perhaps he even found a room for his small family to stay in, if the crowd had dispersed even a little bit, until he could get to the courthouse to register - and now, the number was three! Mary and the baby had bonded for 10 days, now, and surely they had gotten into some sort of a pattern for sleeping, feeding, cleaning and just being together. It was the time to settle into a routine, a time to rearrange how things were done BC (before children) and AC (after children). And there was still the thought of having to pack everything back on that donkey and start heading home. . .

It was now the other extreme of childbearing. It’s post-partum. All the excitement that had gone on with the birth - the angels, the shepherds, the light, the singing - that was over with, and just a memory. Now, though, Mary could rock her baby and hum her songs of love to him. She could close her eyes and smell his baby scent and feel his breath on her neck as she held him close to her. She could wake up at the slightest change in his breathing, make sure he was fine, and go back to sleep. She could smile for no reason - she was where and who she needed to be.

I think they settled in nicely, don't you?

Author: Judy Burhans