Winds of Change...literally!

We have been experiencing a wonderful spell of warm weather lately. Since Thanksgiving it has been in the 60's with a lot of sunshine. It has been great to be able to be outside with the kids and let them get some playtime in before the winter sets in. I've also had the windows open some to get fresh air in the house. and I love that.

But today that is all changing. We woke this morning to a temp of 65...so nice! But the clouds are rolling in and the wind is picking up. There is a high wind advisory for today and by tonight the temp is supposed to be in the 20's with snow showers!!! From one extreme to another. Tonight we are going to Light Up Night in our little borough, so I guess it is good that it's cooling down. I do find it hard to get "into" the holiday spirit when it is warm outside. So we'll walk down to a little park here and watch as they light the HUGE evergreen tree and the Santa will make an appearance on a fire truck and hand out candy canes. The kids will love it and then we can walk home and snuggle in from the cold.

Lately some friend sand I have been talking about the whole idea of Santa and whether to tell your kids about him. I'm not talking about this from a Christian perspective (that is an whole other post) but rather from the perspective of what some people consider to be lying to your children. I suppose in a very technical and legalistic sense perpetuating the myth of Santa is lying, but I have never seen it that way. I loved the magic of Santa as a child and I remember so many fun times huddling under the cover with my brothers on Christmas Eve and being SURE we heard the tapping of reindeer hooves on the roof. We tried to be as quiet as we could because everyone knows Santa won't come unless you are asleep! In our family not only did Santa bring presents but he also decorated the tree. So we went to bed on Christmas Eve with an undecorated tree and no gifts and woke up in the morning to a beautifully decorated tree and a room teeming with presents. It was thrilling to run down the stairs to see what Santa had done.

As we each came to know that Santa was really my parents we got to join in on the decorating and enjoy watching the surprise on the faces of the remaining believers! I can remember vividly when my younger brother realized that Santa was my mom and dad...I think I was more upset than anyone! I was sad that this era was over...some of the magic disappeared. But I was never angry at my parents or felt as if I couldn't trust them because of Santa. On the contrary, I appreciated all of the effort they gave so that we could have a magical experience of Christmas. And in the midst of it all we knelt around our Advent wreath every night and prayed, calling to mind the real reason for our celebration. There was balance between love and magic and reverence, it was wonderful.

So while I respect the right of every parent to make the choice regarding Santa that is best for their family I want to say thanks to my mom and dad for the wonder of Santa I experienced as a child. I loved it and hope to pass that magic onto my kids.