The question I have been dreading.
Don’t you all dread that question?
No, I’m not talking about the birds and the bees thing. My kids have known about that since they were little. (I guess it’s part of growing up with a midwife for a mother). No, it was nothing so…simple.
You know, that question, about the big guy in the red suit? Is he real?
I was asked today.
I felt so many things all at once, I needed to sit down.
My first thought was, Lord, how am I going to answer this?
Followed quickly by; you can just fall back on the ‘those who don’t believe, don’t receive’ line and avoid the topic altogether.
Next came the sad sinking feeling that my girls were growing up, that they were no longer part of that innocent age of wonder, they were jaded and had passed the point of believing everything David and I told them.
After that, I wanted to cry. Maybe I need to up the crazy pills, who knows but the thought of them not believing brought me down with a clunk!
It also reminded me of the year I questioned and found out for myself. I remember feeling deflated and my Christmas spirit was virtually gone.
I told her the story of Saint Nicholas. I reminded her of the true meaning of Christmas. I told her I believed in the spirit of the season and that for me it was more about family now and about the joy of giving.
She was very mature. She thanked me for being honest. We held hands and talked about keeping the spirit alive for the little ones and how important it was to me. She smiled and gave me a hug, in the middle of a huge toy store, where Christmas decorations have been out now for a couple of weeks and parents were casing the joint, watching their children play with prospective presents. (The very reason we were there).
But her eyes were sad. They had lost some of their sparkle.
Things will be different now. For her and for me. It might take her a while to find her Christmas spirit again.
Have your children asked you that question yet? How did you answer?
