This December, as Christmas loomed alongside the economic downturn, Stryker fretted about his holiday booty. She wishes she could say he was wrenched about his ability to give, but his concern was the get. He knew his parents had no extra money.
To fully appreciate this next sentence, understand that Stryker uttered these words with complete conviction and sincerity.
Stryker to Matron: "But I'm not real worried, Mom. There's alwaysl Santa."
!
Yes, Santa made his regular appearance.
But as Easter approached (one more holiday that this decidedly non-Christian Buddhist family celebrates with seculary selectivity), the Matron opted for the proactive approach. After all, there is an age after which Certain Belief is a bit embarassing.
Matron to Stryker in one of those special, mother-son, moments: "Please tell me that you don't think a giant bunny is traveling the planet and delivering baskets of candy tonight."
Not only did he not consider said presence possible, the question provided big belly laugh. And Santa? Well, the Matron made sure they were on the same page there, too. She's pretty sure she put the final nail (gently) in a coffin not quite sealed but closing before she got there.
13 comments:
I've got one turning 13 next Friday. The nail in the santa/bunny coffin was driven years ago. I'm not sure if it was the older brother, an accidental comment from me which I thought covered by saying I helped Santa shop, or his innate grownupness. Anyway, it just happened without me having to say anything, thank goodness.
I was crushed when I learned the truth (in Gr 4). All my years of collecting Santa's handwriting samples, showing consistency in said handwriting, and arguing over how Santa succeeded in his efforts seemed for naught. Until I went to law school...
I only hope my kids get that far in believing. Well...going along with it by then, I guess.
My kids still believe in the power of Santa. With a big wink-wink, but when it works for you . . .!
My 10-year old son loves to believe in Santa [we've never given credence to Easter Bunny; as weird as a saint flying around the world in a night is, at least it makes more sense than a rabbit celebrating the resurrection] with the same passion he reserves for magic.
I have a tiny bit of worry for his social adjustment in jr. high...
I was very disappointed when my sister told me that St. Nicholas didn't really exist and I was mad at her too for spoiling the whole thing. I eventually got over it, because I was a little bit scared of him too and realized later on what a farce the whole thing was with all those badly dressed old men on a white horse they couldn't really ride.
What? What are you implying? But ... I'm sure I saw a fluffy white bunny early Sunday morning.
You are completely wrong you know.
My Aunt famously refused to disbelieve in Santa until she 15 years old. The reason? She saw the packages of dishtowels and socks that non-believing adults got for Christmas and vowed to believe FOREVER.
My eldest of 3 turns 13 in June. It is uncanny how much we have in common that I've found in your posts...the mother situation...the bio father situation, etc. However, when we had the talk about economic times it was my youngest who declared that Santa could bring stuff. We advised that Santa has been hit by economic times as well.
Now, it's time to tackle politics.
I have no plan for dealing with these things.
How nice that some children have a chance to believe in Santa. My older sister told me there was no such thing as Santa when I was so young that I don't even remember her saying it. So I never had the joy of Santa and am a little sad about it. What's weird is how many adults keep the perception of god going...to themselves and their children - an all knowing and all powerful being who knows every thought of humanity...
I was about five when my older sister told me that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy were "all the same person."
That TOTALLY made sense to me. I guess I was Buddhist even then, but didn't know it.
You know, my theory on Easter is that while the resurrection of Jesus is possibly apocryphal, possibly real, but definitely also rooted in other, pre-christian religious traditions, chocolate and bunnies are largely non-denominational, so I have no problem believing in either of them.
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