“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
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Travels With Maggie
The day I discovered there was no Santa Claus is as clear in my memory as the day it happened. I had persisted in believing well after most kids had wised up. Finally my mother sat me down on the couch and explained the facts of life to me.
She said she didn’t want me to make a fool of myself in front of my more knowledgeable friends.
I remember saying: “But if he doesn’t come down the chimney, doesn’t he just use the door?”
My mother was persistent, however, and ignored my desire to continue believing.
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While I was devastated at the truth, my own children relished in ferreting out the truth and destroying the Santa myth at very young ages.
As these same, less naive kids grew up and left a fractured home behind, Christmases became smaller and smaller. Jobs, school, obligations, in-laws and economic realities meant my children began celebrating Christmas in their own homes.
For many years, at least one of my children would make it home for Christmas. But even that finally ended. In response I became the floater, rotating among my children for Christmas.
This year finds me at the home of my son, Lewis, celebrating Christmas a day late so my son can have all his children around him. And guess who’s coming to dinner? His ex-wife, the mother of his four children.
You see, it was her year for Christmas, but Lewis still wanted all his kids around him for the holidays. And yes, I agree, his current wife is a saint.
The compromise, however, is a great beginning for eventual world peace. Wouldn’t you agree?
But if you don’t, keep it to yourself. I already suffered enough being told there was no Santa Claus. And Maggie, who was feeling well enough to walk the park loop this morning, doesn’t want to know either.
Lovely heartwarming Christmas story, one of my favorites.
Am so glad Maggie is doing better.
Thanks Kristi
For me, there was no time and place–thoughts sort of reassembled in my brain (well past the time my friends had been clued in by older sibs) and the realization fell into place. But I never mentioned it, which suited my mother just fine, because it allowed us to keep the magic alive. She had always told me Santa Claus was “the spirit of Christmas.”
So yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and your day-late Christmas proves it, along with the carrying the promise of eventual world peace. I think this is one of those times when we can hear angels singing.
I was the oldest of 5. Even though my logical mind knew the truths about Santa, I kept it to myself for many years and played along. I did not want to ruin it for my younger brothers and sister and I wanted to keep some of the magic alive for myself as well … because … you never know 😉
It broke my heart when my mother sat me down and told me there was no Easter Bunny, but it was a completely different experience when I discovered her sneaking the Santa presents down from the attic. I think the difference was that, when I found out for myself, I uncovered something wonderful about my mother. When she TOLD me, she took something from me that delighted me.
My own child figured things out for herself and it was like the best present ever! She said, “You mean all the grownups in the world play this game for the kids, to make things magic for them? And now that I know, I get to play it, too?” 🙂
I guess that explains the difference between my sadness at discovering the truth about Santa, and the joy my kids had at making the discovery. Interesting.
Great entry for this seasons 🙂
You just have to believe, I love Christmas, for all the ideas and love that it engenders in people. I love searching out small unasked for presents for my family, they are finally getting used to some of the more esoteric things I find.
I hate the modern lists and asking that takes away the thinking about someone. Which is what it means for me. I am not a jot religious, but thinking about the people we love is the most important thing we can do.
Jim
My mother, being rather more literal than emotive, never let me believe in Santa Clause, no matter how much I would have liked to. Sigh. However, the celebration with all the family, even the ex-wife and the new one…THAT sounds familiar. I thought that kind of just-suck-it-up-and-learn-to-like-each-other dynamic was perfectly normal right up until I realized it wasn’t. I have 3 sisters, 2 brothers and, between steps and halves and exes, none of us shares an entire pair of parents. None of us has a living father anymore, and yet we have always done the holidays together when we could. My youngest sister calls my mom her aunt and my older brother basically has 2 moms. We actually joke about it.
It sounds something like this:
E: You’re a dork.
K: Your face is a dork.
E: Your mom is a dork.
*from across the room*M1: Nope, wasn’t me. It was the other one.
We’ve stopped trying to explain it. It just works. We’re family, and we like each other. That will do.
Kudos to your son’s wife for being so generous with her holiday, though. From experience I know it isn’t easy to ‘blend’.
We all actually had a great time Evie. The only mishap of the entire evening was a spat between the two dogs — my Maggie and Lewis’ Sasha. The two bitches got growlly over a leftover tidbit that dropped to the floor. Have a great 2012.