Santa Delima

I've always wondered, why as parents do we choose to MAKE our kids believe in Santa? We spend all of our time trying to convince them he's real, having them set out cookies and milk for him and then eating them so they think Santa did it. Then as they start getting older, they beging to question if he's real, as parents...we lie faithfully and tell them he's real. WHY! I suppose if I had been a child who found out differently that santa wasnt real I'd feel different about it. But let me explain my story first.

In my childhood years, I was ALWAYS a firm believer in Santa. He had done so much for me growing up. Got me all the cool presents on Christmas, and I wasn't about to stop believing in someone who was so nice, and so obviously real. I remember being to old to believe in santa, but I went on believing anyway. My older siblings made fun of me for telling them that he was real, but I had a plan to make them all realize how real he was.

My room was at the end of the hallway, so I had a clear view down the hall and into the livingroom where Santa would MOST DEFINATLY be that night. I had resolved that I would leave my bedroom door open when I went to bed that night. And I would be perfectly still on my top bunk, until I heard the hooves on the rooftop. I was going to catch santa! My bunk bed was positioned right where I could see out the door of my room and no one would even know I was awake. My plan was FOOL PROOF! or so I thought.

NO I didnt fall asleep, quite the contrary, once the house was quiet, My parents came out of their room, wearing elf hats. Then they told Garry and Sarah (the two oldest) to get the bags of presents out of their closet. What?!?! What presents? No no no! They cant be awake Santa wont come! Then it hit me, he's not comming. I've been lied to all along. I began to cry silently as my brother and sister began bringing the bags of gifts into the livingroom and stacking them under the tree. No santa, no reindeer, no magic. it's all been a pack of lies. My brother and sister finished putting the presents under the tree and my parents turned off the lights. And I sat on my bed, crying myself to sleep.



This is why I have such a delima with what to do with my kids. Do I push them to believe in Santa only to Crush their dreams when they get older? Not to mention let some fat man take the credit for all my hard work in finding the right present for the right kid. Or are my kids going to be the ones to ruin it for everyone else? I dont want them spoiling the surprise for some poor unsuspecting kid. Someday I hope to decided on what to do. Maybe my kids will pick up the Santa thing from someone else. Should I play along, or tell them he's just the spirit of christmas? And I thought christmas was hard when I was a kid.