Deanne's Writing World
  • Home
  • My World - blog
    • The Daily Brat
    • My writings
    • Where I've Been
  • Untangling the Knot - Field Goal Vlog
    • Training Log
    • Sneak Peak at Untangling the Knot
    • Kicking and Patriot Photos
  • The World of my Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Molto Mayhem - Favorite Italian Recipes
    • Betting Jessica's Character World
  • Author's World
  • Contact Info
  • Home
  • My World - blog
    • The Daily Brat
    • My writings
    • Where I've Been
  • Untangling the Knot - Field Goal Vlog
    • Training Log
    • Sneak Peak at Untangling the Knot
    • Kicking and Patriot Photos
  • The World of my Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Molto Mayhem - Favorite Italian Recipes
    • Betting Jessica's Character World
  • Author's World
  • Contact Info

Overheard at . . . a holiday party

12/11/2014

0 Comments

 
"I don't really care if you are the one who gives us presents, not Santa... it's just I want to know what to do on Christmas morning someday when I have kids."

NOTE: SPOILER ALERT - This post for magic holders only

A mom and I were comparing notes on how the Santa conversation happened for us this Christmas. Her determined eldest refuses to listen to anyone who says Santa is not real. However, the second in line, an 8 year old going on 28, said the above quote to her mom when not in earshot of her siblings. She was truly concerned that if her mom didn't pass along the gameplan now, she wouldn't be ready when the time came in... what, like hopefully 20 years or so!

On the other hand, this was my daughter's thought process...
"So you are the one who gives me my presents, not Santa?"
"Then are you the one who hides Elf?"
"Wait! So then you're the one who burned elf on the lamp!"

Oops.... well, for any of you who have read that post, Overheard at... Home, last year you'll know it was a narrow escape for me that took an all out hunt for a replacement and eventually tested my sewing and gluing skills.

I apologized profusely... and then sat helplessly while she cried about her lost innocence (my words, not hers.) I have wondered for a while now how this might all happen and when, so I should have been a lot more prepared. Perhaps it is because I work with words so much that I somehow knew the words would come when I needed them. And they did, sort of.... lots of things about magic not having to be physical to be real, and that it only takes looking at all of the lights and presents and festivities around the world to know that Santa's magic is very real.

And yet... there she was sitting on my lap crying. Had I blown it? Was there a special way to explain that I had messed up? Would Christmas ever be the same again? It's been a week now, and this morning we got yelled at for forgetting to hide elf overnight. Things feel back to normal. She is excited about Christmas, and putting a whole other level of thought into her Christmas gift. She is looking forward to keeping the magic for a younger cousin and for others who still believe in the physical being of Santa. And she has all new ideas for the mischief Elf can get into.

But.... no, Christmas won't be the same again, and we all know it. She was ready to take on this new level of understanding, but she is also missing her childhood, not only in this way, but in many ways. And although we have been very open about the facts of life and she knows all about how babies come about, what I have learned this week is that knowing and understanding can be two very different things. I could have told her years ago about Santa.... but it is only because she believed and knew the magic that she now understands what it's loss means to her.

Still, I'm glad Santa has been an important part of our life. Because of him, when I described the real magic of Christmas, she understood the power of that beautiful word.

What makes your Christmas magical? I hope wherever it comes from, your Christmas journey is a magical one.
Deanne

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to my blog:

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    About Me...

    Picture

    Deanne Wilsted

    Link here to Betting Jessica on Amazon.com

    Background - Overheard While Writing
    It's hard to explain, but 12 years ago, when I started to write seriously, the only place where I could get my work done was at Starbucks. 

    Since then, 4 manuscripts and 4 favored Starbucks later, I sill find myself drawn to a cozy corner and a half-decaf Americano.... not to mention the many friendly faces that greet me when I arrive.

    And, while I try to stay focused, there are some times when the conversations or interactions that surround me draw my attention away from my own characters, and into the world of life's own characters. 

    This BLOG captures some of those funny, sincere, inspiring moments. Maybe they will give you a reason to write as well.

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    4th Of July
    Agatha Christie
    Age
    Animals
    Anxiety
    Art
    Bath
    Betting Jessica
    Blogging
    Book Covers
    Books
    Boston
    Bullying
    Business
    Camp
    Change
    Charity
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Covid
    Dessert
    Dogs
    Earthquake
    Egypt
    Emotions
    England
    E Pub
    E-pub
    Exercize
    Family
    Fiction
    Food
    Genre Fiction
    Goals
    God
    Government
    Gratitude
    Great Books
    Happy Hour
    Harry Potter
    Hotels
    Humor
    Inspiration
    Italy
    Jane Austen
    Kids
    Lake Tahoe
    Language
    Literary Agents
    Literary Ficiton
    Lost Dogs
    Memorial Day
    Milestones
    Military
    Molto Mayhem
    Mommyhood
    Music
    Nolables
    Obama
    Observation
    Obstacles
    Online Saftey
    Oxfam
    Parental Controls
    Parenting
    Paris
    Pets
    Poetry
    Politics
    Portland
    Promo
    Publishing
    Reviews
    Romance
    Rules
    School
    Science
    Seasons
    Senses
    Silliness
    Small Business
    Soulmate
    Sports
    Starbucks
    Stress
    Summer
    Summer Jobs
    Talents
    Tears
    Tennis
    Travel
    Untangling The Knot
    Vikingsholm
    Weather
    Weddings
    Writing

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from Matthew Juzenas, cumi&ciki