we all need the magic

December 12, 2012

Dear Dylan,

You asked me today if Santa is real.  You’ve asked a few times this month and I asked you in return “what do you think?”  You didn’t push it any further until today, and now it seems like you really want to know the truth.

The answer is no.  Santa is not real. There no single “one” Santa.

Dad and I are the people who fill your stockings with treats.  We choose the gifts we think you’ll love,  and wrap them and place them under the tree.  It’s the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her.

I know someday you will do this for your children too, when you are an adult with a family of your own.  You will love the anticipation of seeing your children’s excitement and wonder as they open the gifts you’ve chosen for them.  You will keep this special secret from them as long as you can, and explain that  Santa is magic.

This won’t make you Santa, though.

Santa is bigger than any one person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived.  What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to believe in something they can’t see or touch.  He also keeps magic alive in all of our hearts as we grow into adults.

It’s a big job, and it’s important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand.  Here, I am talking about love, the great power that will light your life from the inside out.

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student.  Now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.  With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

So no, I am not Santa.  Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.  I’m on his team, and now you are too.

I love you and I always will.  Please don’t tell Logan or talk  about this with any other children.  Every kid deserves to ask their own parents and find out about Santa when the time is right for them.

Love,

Mom