Santa Mommy

"Alas! How dreary would be the world if there was no Santa Claus!... There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence." -Francis P. Church

I can tell I'm still a rookie mom, because it feels weird to be the one who stuffs the stockings.  I always feel like I'm taking the Big Man's job, buying stocking stuffers and tucking little gems into the stockings.  I mean, doesn't Santa do that?  I guess he relies on Mommy for help.

But the magic that seems removed by my agency comes right back to life on Christmas morning, when Maeve opened her stocking.  Even though she's too little to believe in Santa this year (although she knows he says Ho ho ho) it still felt like I was stoking a fire, a tiny fire of belief that will grow every year of her childhood.  And perhaps, outside of Mommy, Daddy, and Elmo, the first thing she will really believe in will be Father Christmas.

I am not concerned, either that she will have faith in Santa or she will not; what I am more concerned about is that she learns to believe.  If not in Santa, then in Truth, Justice, Peace, Generosity, or Kindness.  Her heart has to have room for the intangibles that make life beautiful, and Santa is a good start.  I will try not to lie to her, but I want her to know that just because there is no proof of something, or it seems impossible, does not mean it doesn't exist.  Life is a miracle and a wonder, and we live better with our hearts wide open.

Rocking horses are pretty magical!