I'm being serious. Give me your honest opinion. PLEASE! I am so very tempted to stop perpetuating the lie that is Santa Claus. Jake is 9. That's big kid age kind of right?...I had a conversation...Okay a text chat-lets face it people that is all I really have time for lately (what's that you say?..this is my second post of the day? I probably have more time than I think...Yes, you caught me...but this is my sanity people. See the rambling I am doing here? You should be inside my head!!!). I can have a conversation, while making dinner, and helping Jake finish his homework (WHY does it take so long for him to finish his homework?!?!?! That is a whole other post..)! Any way I told Elizabeth, I am seriously worried my child is going to leave on his mission fully believing there is a Santa Claus. He tells me all the time that people tell him Santa isn't real. He thinks they are dead wrong and feels bad for them that they have lost the ability to believe (thanks a lot Polar Express...Really I love the book, but Jake takes it as gospel truth). Jake asks me if he is real and what do I do? I LIE AND SAY YES! Why? Can I please stop lying and tell him the truth? You see Jake is at every single moment of the day pretending one thing or another. His imagination is AMAZING! I have seriously felt bad for other children who come to our house because they don't know how to play anything but the Wii. Again, that is a whole other topic, but do you see where I am going with this? Jake relates to the first line of the John Mayer song "Half of my Heart". It goes like this: "I was born in the arms of imaginary friends...". He told me while we were listening to it in the car one day-"Hey! That's just like me!" Lately, he claims to be part dog...I am starting to think he may actually believe it...I am making him sound like some weirdo, but he really is a cool kid. He is like Dr. Seuss, but if Dr. Seuss didn't like to write...(See what I mean about being in my head...). The point is his imagination is such that it some how makes sense to him, that even though it is impossible to fit all those gifts in his sled, Santa really can do it. OR WAIT A MINUTE!!! Is Jake bringing up things that Santa does that are impossible hoping I will just go a head and tell him it really isn't true?! Is he giving me an out to tell him the truth? I know you are probably thinking he's 9, give him time. But, in this economy and being poor students (again) I would love to take credit for the 3 (maybe 4 gifts) he is going to get this year! I want to shout from the roof tops: THERE IS NO SANTA!!! Sad isn't it? I love Christmas really, but I am sick of Santa. How pitiful am I that I am seriously considering telling him there is no Santa the next time he asks me? We tell him to tell the truth and then flat out lie about a fat guy coming down the chimney with gifts...ugh. I really am not Scrooge, but Santa isn't what Christmas is about any way...I never thought I would be the mom that wanted to crush the dream of Santa, but I would like to crush it like a bug...I guess I wish I could just make Jake little again so Santa was exciting and magical, not...I am just going to say it: annoying...
I think it is time to turn the attention to where it really should be on Christmas. The birth of our Savior, not Santa...
I had such a battle in my head before we even began the Santa myth to my kids- so much of it didn't make sense to me as a kid, like how the heck he came in our house without a chimney, and why the poor children never got anything from him. My mom told me there was no such thing as Santa when I was 7, the year my parents divorced, because she couldn't even fill stockings. What I've learned from both being a mom and being told while I still believed in him is that I WANT my children to believe. We focus so much on Christ, Santa magic can all be a part of that too. I love the dreams, the charity, the imagination it all fuels. Every culture throughout all of history has taught children myths, fables, fairy tales- because creativeness is the mother of all inventions.
ReplyDeleteAnd we tell them that we have to pay Santa $ for what he brings- that way we get the credit. And he only brings ONE thing!
Yeah we don't do the Santa thing. Though since Nathan has been attending preschool and school for a few years he has picked up on Santa and I have explained to him about the "spirit of Santa" and the blessings he can bring to children that truly have needs. After Audrey was diagnosed with cancer we were approached by a group called Friends of Santa Claus. I was against joining because I didn't want to be part of a "pitty me group" and I didn't want them giving things to us. But, we went ahead and did it and let me tell you it has been wonderful. The friends we have made the fun things we are able to do. I can see both Nathan and Audrey volunteering for this organization for years to come. There truly is a spirit of Santa that we all carry and share. Yet Santa doesn't drop any gifts at our house.
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