Who knew Mary was a loner?

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is the Willow Tree nativity Matt bought me a couple of years ago (way to go, honey!). It is quite traditional, with Mary holding the baby Jesus and Joseph standing close by. There are a couple of shepherds, the three wise men, and some animals. I think it's fairly safe to say that most people recognize the various roles in the nativity, basic as they are.

Well.

Matt and I have housekeepers come to our home once a week. Anyone who knows me knows that a housekeeper I am not. Or a cook, or a crafter, for that matter, but I digress. Anyway, these ladies come to our house every week and leave it spotless and lemony fresh. We discovered last December, however, that for all their cleaning prowess they apparently have no knowledge of the story of the nativity, or of the various main characters' roles in said nativity. After cleaning the top of our entertainment center, they replace the nativity--never the same way twice, and NEVER right. And I don't just mean switching Mary and Joseph. Here's an example from the first week we had it up this year:

The tall guy in the middle holding the staff is indeed Joesph. But to his left, our right, where Mary should be, is the first of the wise men. Do you see Mary? Give up? That's her in the far right of the picture, tucked in the back corner. Huh? Surely everyone knows that the baby is the whole reason for the setup! Each week, I faithfully rearranged the nativity, and each week, Matt and I delighted to come home and see what Jesus and the gang had been up to while we were gone. Once I even left a picture from a catalog selling the nativity right next to it, so they could remember how it goes. That day we came home to find that the shepherd girl had replaced Mary and taken up with Joseph, while one of the wise men seemed to be ready to comfort Mary in her hour of need off to the side.

This is how I see it. We pay a very reasonable amount of money so that I never have to scrub a toilet or mop the floor. I can deal with a little nativity confusion now and then, bizarre as it may be. I'll certainly never quit displaying it--like I said, it's lovely, and Abby loves telling people that Jesus lives on top of our tv.