The Santa Debate

I had an interesting discussion at work today. 

The boys that all sit around me debated me for about an hour over Santa Claus. 

They all have kids ranging from 3 years old to 22 years old.  And they all felt very strongly that telling their children as soon as they asked that Santa wasn't real was the right thing to do... 
One even said that he never even had the Santa tradition because they felt that it took away from the true meaning that is Jesus's birthday.

Not one participated in the full 18 year childhood of Santa like I did. 
It could have been that I was still given Santa presents until I moved away to college because I was the oldest and I always had younger cousins around that still believed... 
But I LOVED it.  Maybe that is why Santa is so special to me now.

It is not about the presents.  I have never been one to ask for specifics...  But its the tradition... the fantasy... the magic.
I don't think I will fully admit there is no Santa to my girls until they have their own children.  Even if they are 16 years old and watch me put them under the tree.... Nope, I guess I am a liar.

Our children grow up so fast these days...  Reality is in their face so more than even 15 years ago with the invention of the internet and 3000 TV channels. 
What is wrong with encouraging a magical place where you are rewarded for being nice???

I am blessed that my 6 year old still fully believes in old St. Nick and is constantly looking for our "elf on the shelf" because she just KNOWS that he reported back to Santa the night before... 

I am gonna tell the truth.
Santa is real. 

I wonder how many years later...

Sitting here Sunday night, I am having the same thoughts in my head as I did three years ago when I started this blog...
Guilt.

I have always been a hard worker.  I have never been one to be able to sit back and be average. 
In fact, I would rather be terrible at something than be average.  I guess that is why I figure if I am going to work, I am going to rock it. 
So, since I have to work for economical reasons, I will push myself.  To be the best...

Didn't I just write this same post??????????

Well, to be the best at this point in my carrier requires me to travel.  A lot.  
Even more than when I did before.
Case in point, so far this month I have been to Denver, Sacramento, Orange County, Hollywood and San Francisco.
Yes... seriously. 

I come home every trip and luckily after some tight hugs and many "sorry's", it seems that I haven't missed a beat. 
But in reality, I know I have missed a lot. 

My mom stayed home when i was little.  So did my Nana...  so did my husbands mom and so did all of my aunts. 
Addison is going to be 6 this month.  I was home with her for 6 weeks when she was a baby. 
This hurts my heart.

A bit of rambling I know but I hope one day when I print these writings out in a book for my girls, that they know I miss them every second of being gone but that I do it all for them. 
And I hope when they grow up, they can say that they had role models that stayed home and one that worked. 
I pray that I have given them the tools to decide for themselves what is best.  
And I really hope that they have to think about it.
It would sure make me feel better anyway.

I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL...

My sweet Addison started kinder this week.  I've cried more times than I am willing to admit. 
But she has done beautifully... 

Below is a wonderful poem that I want to dedicate her.....



I Trust You'll Treat Her Well

World, I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress.. with two blue eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. I Trust You'll Treat Her Well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day at school.
And never again will she be completely mine...

Prim and proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse...

Gone will be the chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a care in her little world.

Now, she will learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called...
She will learn to tune her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines...
She will learn to giggle and gossip... and to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.

Now she will learn to be jealous...and now she will learn how it is to feel hurt inside...and now she will learn how not to cry. No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk...

Or will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. Now she will worry about important things...like grades...and what dresses to wear...and whose best friend is whose. Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls her hair at recess time... and staying after school...and which little girls like which little boys...And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.

And she'll find her new heroes. For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus...her pal and playmate...her parent and friend. Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship and adoration with her teachers (which is only right).

No longer will her parents be the smartest, and greatest in the world. Today, when the first school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group...with all its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies don't laugh out loud...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer sidewalk...

Today, she'll begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. That "the group" can be a demanding mistress... and I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long, long journey to becoming a woman.

So WORLD, I BEQUEATH TO YOU TODAY ONE LITTLE GIRL in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL.