I knew this day was coming and I even tried to prepare myself... and Brielle. I had begged Chris to let me tell Brielle who the "real" Santa was, and he did not agree. I even went as far as to ask random people, friends & co-workers when their kids found out, how they found out and who told them. And just as I had expected, the answers I received were completely split down the middle.
Half the people I talked to urged me to tell her. That kids should hear it from their parents and not from friends at school. Their advice... tell her before kids start talking about it at school.
The other half I talked to was shocked I'd even consider such a thing. Why would I possible want to ruin the magic of Christmas? Their advice was to let her "believe" as long as she wanted to believe.
In the end, I let it go. I realized that maybe my wanting Brielle to know the truth was somewhat selfish on my part. Thought like "why should "Santa" get credit for the cools gifts that I thought of and that I bought? or not having to buy a "Santa" gift could allow us another family ski day" crept into my mind. Or better yet, we could go away for the Christmas break. Selfish, I know. So, I backed off.
What a big mistake that was. For our family, anyway.
The Year Santa's Cover Was Blown
Part 1 - The Phone Call
I was at our local mall one day when I ran into the mom of Brielle's BFF "M". She laughed when she saw me, since she was there buying a gift for Brielle from her daughter. We talked for a while and she mentioned that M had heard kids talking at school last year, went home and asked her parents. M knew the truth, but since she had younger siblings, she knew that she had to keep this secret to herself. I told M's mom that Brielle had made a point to tell me (multiple times) that she still believed.
Later that night, I received a call from M's mom while Brielle and I were out shopping. M's mom explained to me that some boys were treating Brielle badly at school because she still believed in Santa (exactly what I had hoped wouldn't happen). I had heard nothing about this! Brielle hadn't said a word!
M's mom continued to say that Brielle confronted M and asked for the truth, which she was given. M was completed distraught... sobbing her eyes out at home... because she felt that Brielle's Christmas was now ruined. Poor M.
Part 2 - The Tears & Unwanted Information
So it was there, in the middle of a fabric isle at JoAnne's fabric that I asked of there was something Brielle wanted to talk to me about. She burst into tears. "Two girls at school were drawing boys private parts and M & I were so uncomfortable so we walked away!" she said while crying.
Wow. I didn't see that one coming. I took the next 5 minutes to calm Brielle down, explain to her that she's not in trouble and that she didn't do anything wrong. We also had a talk about what to do in situations like those, and that talking to me is always the very best thing to do.
What is wrong with kids these days? They're 10 for crying out loud!
We walked to the car, and the tears started again. This time because she had no idea what was going on. "Why did M's mom call you? What did I do? Did I hurt M's feelings? I don't understand what's happening?" were the questions that came between the sobs. Rather than drag this out, I quickly said "IT'S ABOUT SANTA!"
More tears. Oh boy, I thought. "That's it?" she said. Que more crying... "I thought I had done something wrong!" Her emotions and worry over the situation had gotten the best of her. Apparently, I should not have prefaced this conversation with "Is there something that happened at school you want to tell me about?" It was more than she could handle.
Part 3 - The Explanation
We grabbed Wendy's to go and headed home where she could feel a little bit more comfortable, and where dad could be present for this conversation. By this time, the tears had stopped.
I asked Brielle to name all the things that she knows about Santa Claus. Her list included things such as: Red Suit, brings joy and happiness to children, delivers gifts to children across the world, etc. I then asked her to name some of the characteristics of Jesus Christ that we've been reading in the New Testament this month. Joy, happiness, miracles and blessings where a few of the things she named.
We explained that Santa is nothing more than a symbol of Jesus Christ. Santa is the symbol of the joy and happiness we receive when we give to others. That Christmas really isn't about a magical fat man in a red suit that fits in everyone's chimney. It's about the feeling we have. We discussed that even though Chris and I were "Santa," we feel no greater joy that being able to plan and prepare a special Christmas for her. And that feeling with never go away.
Her next question... "So you guys ate all the cookies I left out?" It seemed the only disappointment she felt was knowing that she essentially gave treats to her parents. Such a bummer.
Part 4 - Being Santa
This is the part where most families would have said "Now you get to be Santa for your younger siblings" like I'm sure is the case with her friend M. But, being an only child, we had to get creative. The best we could come up with was that we draw names, and be the "Santa" in charge of that persons stocking. Brielle is also hard at work trying to come up with just the rights gifts for the Cancer family we are buying for.
I'll tell you what... 2012 will go down as the year that Santa's cover was blown. But it will also be remembered as the year when no Christmas magic was. The Christmas Spirit is still alive and our family is looking forward to a wonderful, magically, Christ centered Christmas.
And bonus! I'll get all the Santa credit!
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