...when all through the house not a creature was believing, not even my spouse.
The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, but nobody's buying St. Nicholas' wares.
The children are nestled all smug in their beds
While visions of irreverence danced in there heads.
What is going on here? There will be no visit to see Santa this year. I asked the boys, like I do every year, if they want to go see Santa and they said, "No." Neither boy wants to make our annual trip to see Santa. I guess now our annual trip is no longer annual but now nostagically past tense as in 'Twas.
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| 2003 |
The obvious question is 'Twhy don't they want to see Santa? You would think the only proper answer from my middler-schooler, 'twould be the answer that I have been expecting from him the past few years. You know the answer that starts with, "I don't belie...." But I didn't get that answer. The answer I got 'twas unexpected.
"Santa's a creeper," they said.
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| 2006 |
"Twhat did you say?" I said.
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| 2006 |
In our house, "creeper" is a general term for a suspicious character, a weirdo. My niece coined the phase and even the facial expression we use to notify other family members of a creeper in the vicinity. So, when they said, "Santa's a creeper," they gave the creeper face to match.
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| 2007 - Note no picture of little brother this year. Assumed beginnings of creeper theory. |
The boys went on to explain why dear Santa is now a creeper. Their arguments are compelling. Top on the list was he knows when you are sleeping. Yes, I guess that is a bit odd.
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| 2008 |
Next was the idea of young children sitting on a strange old man's lap. It's good to know the concepts in the Cub Scouts Parent's Guide on Child Abuse that we have religiously covered with the boys every year have really made an impact.
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| 2008 |
And lastly, there were some ramblings about Santa coming into houses under the cloak of darkness, another inarguable concern.
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| 2009 |
I however believe that all of this creeper talk is merely a parent-friendly way for the boys to communicate the real answer that starts with "I don't belie..." The boys know these are words are hard for parents to hear. These words hold so much more than an end to a fun, decade-long caper.
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| 2009 |
I don't belie...means Mom and Dad, I'm growing up.
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| 2010 |
It means the teenage years and driving and moving off to college and having a family of their own are right around the corner. It means that you have to drop the magic for a little while before you can start it again and share with the next batch of believers.
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| 2010 |
But it doesn't mean that joy of Christmas is over. It just means we can all start to appreciate a deeper reason for the season.
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| Laurel Valley, Townsend, TN November 2011 |
It's sad when they grow up and traditions have to change. We're going through a whole different phase of that now. :(
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular photo...makes me smile and want to cry all at the same time.
ReplyDelete