A five-year old girl outside of Seattle wrote her letter to
Santa, attached it to a pink balloon and sent it away. Her mother, who had done the same thing as a
child, encouraged her daughter, but felt
her heart breaking a little as her daughter’s tiny hand released the
balloons. The mother knew that, because
of bad economic times, “Santa” wouldn’t be making an appearance at their house
on Christmas Eve. It’s not that the
mother wanted to deny her child the magic that can be found on Christmas
morning. It’s that she was using her
money wisely and taking care of business before giving into pleasure. And sadly, her daughter would probably lose a
little bit of her Christmas spirit because of it.
But, the truth is, Santa does exist. It turns out that Santa exists, for this
particular little girl, in a ranch family hundreds of miles
away. The balloon landed on their ranch in
California and they decided to make the simple Christmas wishes come
true for a little believer in Washington state.
Through the internet, the family discovered her address and had her
wished-for presents shipped in order for her to receive them on Christmas
morning.
Thankfully, this little girl – and her momma - will get to
hang onto the spirit of Christmas for at least one more year.
A few years ago, Daughter 1 ambushed me in the bathroom one morning (when I’m at my weakest) and asked the dreaded question, “Is Santa
real?” Like any good parent, I responded
with a question, “What do you think?”
She was quiet for quite a while as I pulled her hair back
into a braid then she said, “I don’t know how he could do it without help. I think you and Daddy would have to help him
in some way…” Then she paused and
squinted her beautiful hazel eyes and said, “But we all need help sometimes.”
So true.
That day, Daughter 1 and I spoke of the real St. Nick and
what legacy he had left. We spoke of the
nature of the Christmas season – which is about giving. And we even spoke of receiving – you know,
sometimes it’s hard to receive the help you need when you need it. Our egos can be disabling things most of the time.
“So what you’re saying, Momma,” Daughter 1 began that night
as I tucked her into her bed, “Is that Santa is real, but he’s more of a
spirit. And he needs our help.”
I like that she used the pronoun “our” instead of “your” – I
hope that she can always realize and accept that she has a responsibility to
help keep the Christmas spirit alive.
What a beautiful world we would create if all of us, not just at
Christmas time, took on the role of Santa and helped those who needed help in
any way that we could. And how beautiful
would Christmas morning be if we all still believed in the magic of giving … St. Nick's legacy would truly live on!
