I think this year will be the year Tyler learns the truth about Santa. I suspect that he already has some idea that I’m not being totally truthful anyway. I had hoped that I could keep the charade up for one more year but I don’t think I will be able to. I don’t think I have the energy. Plus he already knows what he’s getting- a TV and computer- and he knows that his father and I are buying it so it does not make sense that Santa would then bring it to him. I have a few other small gifts for him so I could wrap them and pretend Santa brought them.
Once kids learn that Santa does not exist some of the magic is gone. What I am concerned about is that he’s missing the true meaning of Christmas. I don’t want him to think it’s all about getting material things. In this respect maybe it’s time to spill the beans. I’m sure by next year other kids in his class or kids at school will start talking about the fact that the parents are the ones buying the gifts. I’d rather he heard the truth from me than from some other kid.
He’s concerned that we won’t be in our house for Christmas. We are still waiting for the gas inspector so I can’t be certain that we will. It’s a waiting game. What surprised me is he’s not concerned because he’s afraid that Santa won’t be able to find us if we’re in the hotel. No, he wants a big Christmas tree! He’s looking forward to decorating it. I promised him that even if we’re still at the hotel I will get a little tabletop tree and we can put it on the nightstand and decorate it. But he wants a real tree. I feel bad for him because I can’t make him understand that we can’t move into the house without gas because we need it for heat and hot water. And I can’t make him understand that there’s nothing I can do to get the inspectors to move any faster. The slow pace of recovery is even harder on kids because they can’t really wrap their minds around a lot of things that’s happening.
On second thought, maybe I’ll summon up enough energy for my yearly trek to talk with Santa. Maybe we can have the magic of Christmas for just one more year.
See also: