Christmas is quickly approaching! Of course the whole house is excited...especially Max who knows something really good is going on but really has not idea what to expect. He asks questions and talks about the tree. He knows presents are involved, but since there aren't any under the tree yet he isn't sure how that part works. As I've mentioned before the boy is brilliant! He notices everything around him, including a man walking to his car through the gas station parking lot yesterday. The man had a black, soft brace around his middle and when he got to the car Max asked "What people do to their back?". I asked who he was talking about, I knew but I wanted to double check that he was really asking what I thought he was. He said "that people right their in her car, what he do to her back?" (Yes, he's a bit confused with pronouns right now!) Of course I had no idea what the man did to his back and told Max as much he then mused and said "Maybe fell down?". That seemed plausible so I agreed it was possible and then Veldon was back and we were leaving. I was left stunned that his 4 1/2 year old who is still adapting to his world noticed this about someone else and even tried to figure out what had happened!
That being said I will now move to Christmas. I am a huge fan of Christmas, I don't like the commercialization nor do I like the over decorating or the Black Friday nonsense, but really who does? None of the a fore mentioned stuff makes me special in the least. One thing I do really love about Christmas is Santa! I collect Santas and love how sweet they all look around my house and on my tree. I am partial to the traditional version or even the English, long cloak version, not so fond of modern Santas playing golf or ...whatever. I know he's become very secular and many believers poo poo the man in red with the rosy cheeks, but not me! I love the idea of Santa, I love how he looks and what he stands for. Saint Nicolas was real and his tradition of helping the poor is a blessing to read about and to see the love of Christ flow through such a common man. Santa is a little different than his namesake. Santa seems to exist more for the wealthy of our world and less for those truly in need! Of course when Santa isn't real and it's incumbent on parents to fill in for the jolly soul then it stands to reason Santa gives more to those who can afford more, simple logic wins there.
When our older kids were little we did Santa with them and Katie was pretty sure Santa was real until about 5th grade (although she might deny that). We have had many friends who don't do the Santa thing which is fine. We tried to connect Santa with Jesus, even if in a lame, small way. We always told them that just like Jesus Santa gives us what we don't deserve because of love. It's a weak connection but a connection nonetheless. So when Max came home the question of Santa was looming, over my head at least! We decided that, given the memory our sweet son has and the connections he is able to make, there is no way we can make Santa seem even slightly real. We never want the question from him as to why Santa brings unnecessary things to rich kids in the Western world, but ignore the kids truly in need in orphanages all over the world? If Santa loves children wouldn't he seek to alleviate the suffering of children even for just one day? So Santa sits around our house as a make-believe icon of Christmas. There won't be any "Santa" gifts this year, which is actually fine with me I prefer to get the credit for the really great gifts my kids get! When we talk about Santa we talk about him as we do Frosty the Snowman or Barney. He is fun and pretend and there's nothing more to it. We can enjoy songs about him but he's pretend. Jesus, Mary and the Wise men they are real!
Max is a wise man in his preschool Christmas program on Monday. He is very excited and the preschool is doing a really good job at teaching him about what his going on. Of course we are talking about it at home too, but the reinforcement at the school is very nice. He talks about baby Jesus and the wise men and the angels (not to be confused with Aunt Jill).
I'll post pictures of the play next week!
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