I don't remember exactly when Son #1 discovered the truth behind St. Nick, but he was cool about it -- he played the game well for his little bros, and winked at me as a co-conspirator when he mentioned all the things he wanted "Santa" to bring him, as if I wanted to reward his not exposing Mr. & Mrs. Claus as frauds...
But now #2 is 10, and should know better... but I don't think he does. He believes. He believes strongly, with a passion that I would not be surprised if it lead to a black eye for defending Santa's reputation on the playground. We've tried to test him, to see if he was just playing along this year, but he has never been a good actor/liar. We've tossed him little hints, jokes about the number of Santas at the malls or how the Claus clan spends the summer, but he has a plausible (if you factor in magic) explanation for everything.
My worry was he would be exposed as a True Believer at football practice, but that's not the type of thing you talk about in the huddle, and I was glad when the season ended with his faith, and manhood, still intact. Now with one week left of school before the Christmas -- oops, Holiday, oops, Winter Break -- I do hope one of his friends will break it to him gently... it's not something I want to have to tell him before he goes off to college or on his wedding night ("Hold up, Son, one more thing...").
update: And now the cinematographer, or more appropriately the "Punk'd" hidden cameraman, side of #2 is coming out: he is testing all the angles to best catch Santa in the act of delivering the goods... he has the batteries, the back-up batteries, the charger, the blank tape, where exactly to place the plate of cookies... which means I need to climb over the stair railing, shimmy along the back of the couch, spiderman my full-of-cookies ass down the bookshelf to "accidentally" knock the camera sideways so it films the wall. And then spend 10 minutes making sounds like a jolly old elf filling stockings and sneaking back out to his reindeer! Sheesh! I hope it's worth it, this kid better have gotten me a darn good gift...
4 comments:
When I was five I said to my parents, "If Santa brings toys to all the good boys and girls, that means that on Christmas morning all the children that don't have presents are bad!" Poor mom and dad couldn't quite let that go... But even knowing it wasn't true, I still chose to beleive and let my brother believe too. Provided he can keep his "manhood" in tact, I say that speaks well of your son that he has that kind of heart to continue to believe. God Bless and Merry Christmas!
He is our sensitive one, who would choose to believe even if faced with impossible evidence against; he's the "Fish Whisperer" of an October post, and will probably suffer the most heartbreaks when older...
It sounds like Son #2 probably can fend for himself. When (or if) he ever finds out the truth it sounds like he'll buy the tale whole heartedly.
I think I've had "that" talk with my daughter every two or three years for about the last five. Once again this year she came to me emotionally distraught because the kids at school let the cat out of the bag. Part of me was thinking, "Duh. We've discussed this several times before. Get over it, already." Instead I read her the letter from the New York Sun to Virginia, and explained how, in this house, we believe because we choose to believe, and we help make the magic happen every year.
She seemed to buy that. Merry Christmas.
Incidentally, this weekend the kids were practicing their songs for the holiday school performance - something along the lines of "We wish you a merry whatever it is your family believes in, and everyone is special." I'll see if I can get the lyrics for you.
"this kid better have gotten me a darn good gift..."
A rubber spatula set.
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