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Christmas bells are ringing––
(or is that just a ringing in our ears?)
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___ Christmas must be near, because our children have become hyperactive and are getting into all sorts of trouble.
___ I don't know how school teachers endure the month of December. (One teacher friend suggested the other day that he thinks they ought to let ou
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MARK WINGFIELD
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t school for the entire month.)
___ In theory, the threat of Santa Claus watching and keeping a list ought to have some positive effect, but if it does, it's not enough. In our culture, it's hard for most kids to think the threat of getting a lump of coal instead of a present is for real.
___ I realize Santa doesn't hold any sway over older kids, but our second-grade boys are still more believers than doubters. I figured last year would be our final Christmas with Santa expectations. But somehow, amazingly, the wonder continues.
___ Luke, especially, really wants to believe in Santa. But he has a friend who has been telling him that Santa isn't real. He usually takes everything Brent says as gospel truth, yet on this point he's not willing to follow along.
___ "If there's no Santa, then where would they send all our letters?" Luke said last night, rather matter-of-factly, more like a statement than a question.
___ There's high incentive to believe in Santa this year, though. Both our boys are expecting Santa to bring them rare Pokemon cards, specifically Charizard and Alakazam.
___ When they first voiced this Santa wish, I tried to explain that Santa might bring them packs of Pokemon cards but that I doubted Santa could bring individual Pokemon cards.
___ "Oh, yes, he can," they replied almost in unison. "Santa doesn't get his toys in the store. His elves make them, and they can make individual Pokemon cards."
___ Well, I think that puts Santa in a bind. After all, Pokemon is such a craze that I suspect even Santa's elves have trouble obtaining the necessary copyright approval to produce rare Pokemon cards on their own.
___ At least that’s my story, and I'm sticking with it.
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___I’m not ready for the magic of Santa to be lost in our household. Call me a "Miracle on 34th Street" girl, but I love the idea of Santa. Christmas morning sparkles with anticipation as the boys run to see if Santa came one more time.
___A
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ALISON WINGFIELD
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dmittedly, a big part of my reluctance to let go is that the loss of Santa will mark another rite of passage in our children’s lives. It’s hard to watch them lose the innocence of young children. Children grow up too quickly as it is. I don’t want them to be in too much of a hurry and miss out on the fun of just being a kid.
___In the meantime, they are hanging on to Santa. Last year, they took me by surprise by asking me if Santa was real. Since the conversation was taking place in the car, which seems to be where many of these topics come up, I didn’t care to spill the beans right then and there. So I asked them what they thought. And they unanimously avowed that yes he was for real, and I agreed with them.
___This year, Luke made the comment, "Mom, if you guys are Santa, then you really spoil us." He wants to believe Santa is real, and I’m not discouraging him. Last night, at his request, we read together the wonderful children's book "Polar Express," something we usually save for the week before Christmas.
___Santa letters were duly written this weekend, with items known to be taboo by Mom and Dad's standards (Game Boys and mini-TVs) included along with everything else. The real trouble may come, though ,when those special cards don’t show up in the stockings; they might be ready to ditch Santa for not being with it.
___We didn’t expect the sleigh ride to last this long, but we’ll enjoy the magic and wonder as long as we can. And when that's gone, we won't be lacking, for we'll still have the truly magic and wonderful reality of Jesus coming to Earth for us.
He Said/She Said is a new regular feature of the Baptist Standard's on-line edition. Mark Wingfield is managing editor of the Standard. Alison Wingfield is a freelance writer. The Wingfields moved to Texas in January from Louisville, Ky., where Mark had been editor of the Western Recorder, in which this column appeared weekly. |
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