Santa

I think we may be reaching the point where there are doubts about Santa. We've never sought to outright lie to Sarah, when she asks, making instead vague comments about the idea of Santa, or the spirit of Santa. I think the Catholic school's emphadsis on the historical Saint Nicholas has raised questions too, since Sarah asked Tam the other day if Santa was a ghost.

One of the gifts she wanted from Santa this year was an elaborate construction and water thing called a hydrodynamic something or other. It was age 10 and above (had both an electrical pump and water involved) and was also ninety bucks. She said she hoped Santa could make one that was smaller, less messy, and for her age. Well, it happens that there is a "beginners'" version, but it's sold out well into the new year. I tried to suggest maybe she should settle for something less, just some construction stuff, until the water version became available. At first she argued that Santa's elves could build one to order, but when I suggested Santa worked better with existing products, she didn't blink.

I know that I, personally, figured the whole thing out a lot earlier than I admitted to. (I mean, come on, you get stuff from your folks and from Santa. If you admit you know about Santa, you could cut your take in half.) (And I was smart enough to notice that as we left for midnight mass on Christmas eve, either my Mom or my Dad found reasons to be a long time in the house while I sat in the car with the other parent. Amazingly, when we got home from midnight mass, Santa had already made his deliveries. We don't do it quite that way with Sarah, but I don't think she's significantly denser than I was. I also think she's as calculating as I was. I also assume she's not reading this blog; though she reads pretty well now, I don't think she can log on by herself.

Anyway, I want to write more about Christmas in the 1950s. After all, some of us are getting older, though not at Christmastime, of course. I hope that if I write more, we'll be able to record some memories that someday Sarah will find rewarding.