Yes there is a Santa Claus

As a parent with children under the age of 8, I find myself ever watchful for those hints that might suggest there is no Santa Claus. For me, Santa represents the innocence of youth that we should cherish and protect. It confounds me the constant bombardment that children receive that there isn't a Santa Claus. Mind you, at the ripe age of nine or ten, I myself devouring the innocence of my little brother (5 years younger) with the candid comment that there wasn't a Santa Claus. What I did was cruel, and the lasting scares continue to haunt me to this day.

So now I'm ever watchful for suggestions, and more so amazed at the assaults children take to their innocence. It comes via television, from the pulpit at church, from their friends, from the newspapers and radio, the list continues. In many respects, the suggestions are done without thought or respect to the children that may be in the audience. I'd wish that there was some warning that these truth sayers would give, such as Vince Vaughn's character in the movie "Old School" when he tells his son "ear muffs" when he wants to drop curse words.

Recently I was talking with a co-worker who relayed an account that her grandchildren shared while eating out. Apparently her daughter and her grandchildren were out at a restaurant, when in walks an older couple. The older gentleman had a full white beard that caught the children's eyes. Enchanted with the older gentleman, the children continued to stare, and their mother quickly realized the object of their fascination resembled Ole Saint Nick. As chance would have it, the older gentleman was used to such attention, and after ordering rose from his table and approached the two young girls. He knelt down and began to inquire about whether they had been "good" this year. For several minutes the gentleman engaged the children in brief Q&A session. As the gentleman's food was delivered to his table, he excused himself offering his appreciation to the children and the cookies that they had left him the previous season. The girls were amazed that Santa was vacationing in their city, and the encounter was retold countless times with everyone they saw for weeks on end.

As my co-worker finished the story, we both agreed that this is what we considered appropriate in shielding our children from the cruelties that target our children's innocence. The older gentleman didn't have to play along, but thankfully he did. Thankfully he recognize that these little girls posed an opportunity to reassure parents and children alike, that innocence and belief are things that should be cultivated and nurtured. Our children will know soon enough that this world is filled with things that will hurt and crush them.

In book "The Polar Express" this idea of believing is represented in ability to hear a sleigh bell. I recall the final passage of this book in which the protagonist explains that in time the bell goes silent for some, but even as an older man, the bell continues to ring for him. My hope is that for as long as possible, my children continue to hear the bell. That they continue to hold fast to the innocence of their youth. They grow up fast enough, and I do them and myself a disservice if I expedite the loss of their innocence.