I wanted to share our Santa story with you all,
This Christmas, my five-year-old, Jay-Bean, has been merrily curious about all things Santa Claus. How does he get down the chimney? Does Comet really have a sensitive gastrointestinal tract? What is the maximum velocity of Santa's sleigh at full capacity, and does he recognize international transportation regulations? You know, the typical questions.
This year, she caught us off guard with a new question after we visited Santa. Recalling the song lyrics, she asked my wife, "If he already knows if I've been bad or good, why does he always ask me if I've been good this year?" Smart kid... dang it!
Jay-Bean has been wanting to see him in action for some time now, and so this year announced that she was not going to go to sleep. Instead, she was going to stay awake and hide in the kitchen cupboard until he arrived, at which time she planned to sneak out and take a picture of him (after we showed her how to use the digital camera, of course).
As we grown-ups know, Santa doesn't like having his picture taken unless he's been asked nicely (and after the parents have slipped a holiday $20 to his elf behind the camera for a gleaming set of customized 5x7's in handy dandy cardboard frames). We explained this to Jay-Bean (except the part about the fee, of course), and reminded her that he also knew if she was still awake when he got here. After relating my own childhood experience of a stubborn Santa who refused to visit until I was really asleep, Jay-Bean relented.
Christmas morning we awoke to find two letters from Santa under the crumb-littered cookie dish. The first thanked Jay-Bean and our 5 month old son, Kieran, for the egg nog and homemade cookies. Per Jay-Bean's written request, he had in fact not eaten the carrots she set out, but instead fed them to Rudolph, who apparently is a very messy eater. He left carrot bits all over the front walkway, much to the chagrin of our apartment neighbors (I'm quick to remind them that flying reindeer could have left something far worse than carrot bits!).
The second letter was a special note for Jay-Bean. He wrote that she was old enough now to learn more about him, and was pleased to hear about all of her questions. To help answer some of them, he left for us all a large coffee table book about his own history titled, aptly enough, "Santa Claus".
His gifts did not end there, though. Absent from the table was a letter I had written to Santa late the previous night. I mentioned this to Jay-Bean, and told her that I had asked the Jolly One if he might be able to leave a picture of himself should he have a spare moment. We looked around the living room but found neither reply nor photo. I then checked the camera and discovered that the memory stick was missing! Santa, being the savvy digital dude that he is, had left it beside the still running computer for us.
As Jay-Bean climbed into the chair to watch, I turned on the monitor and moved the mouse to get rid of the screensaver. There, in the center of our desktop, was a small file titled: "Merry Christmas Jay-Bean!" When we opened it we found this single image taken beside our tree in our very own living room...
This Christmas, my five-year-old, Jay-Bean, has been merrily curious about all things Santa Claus. How does he get down the chimney? Does Comet really have a sensitive gastrointestinal tract? What is the maximum velocity of Santa's sleigh at full capacity, and does he recognize international transportation regulations? You know, the typical questions.
This year, she caught us off guard with a new question after we visited Santa. Recalling the song lyrics, she asked my wife, "If he already knows if I've been bad or good, why does he always ask me if I've been good this year?" Smart kid... dang it!
Jay-Bean has been wanting to see him in action for some time now, and so this year announced that she was not going to go to sleep. Instead, she was going to stay awake and hide in the kitchen cupboard until he arrived, at which time she planned to sneak out and take a picture of him (after we showed her how to use the digital camera, of course).
As we grown-ups know, Santa doesn't like having his picture taken unless he's been asked nicely (and after the parents have slipped a holiday $20 to his elf behind the camera for a gleaming set of customized 5x7's in handy dandy cardboard frames). We explained this to Jay-Bean (except the part about the fee, of course), and reminded her that he also knew if she was still awake when he got here. After relating my own childhood experience of a stubborn Santa who refused to visit until I was really asleep, Jay-Bean relented.
Christmas morning we awoke to find two letters from Santa under the crumb-littered cookie dish. The first thanked Jay-Bean and our 5 month old son, Kieran, for the egg nog and homemade cookies. Per Jay-Bean's written request, he had in fact not eaten the carrots she set out, but instead fed them to Rudolph, who apparently is a very messy eater. He left carrot bits all over the front walkway, much to the chagrin of our apartment neighbors (I'm quick to remind them that flying reindeer could have left something far worse than carrot bits!).
The second letter was a special note for Jay-Bean. He wrote that she was old enough now to learn more about him, and was pleased to hear about all of her questions. To help answer some of them, he left for us all a large coffee table book about his own history titled, aptly enough, "Santa Claus".
His gifts did not end there, though. Absent from the table was a letter I had written to Santa late the previous night. I mentioned this to Jay-Bean, and told her that I had asked the Jolly One if he might be able to leave a picture of himself should he have a spare moment. We looked around the living room but found neither reply nor photo. I then checked the camera and discovered that the memory stick was missing! Santa, being the savvy digital dude that he is, had left it beside the still running computer for us.
As Jay-Bean climbed into the chair to watch, I turned on the monitor and moved the mouse to get rid of the screensaver. There, in the center of our desktop, was a small file titled: "Merry Christmas Jay-Bean!" When we opened it we found this single image taken beside our tree in our very own living room...
Jay-Bean was elated. She was also not surprised that Santa couldn't stand still for the picture, since he had so much to do that night.
A child's imagination is a great thing.
Happy Holidays,
~Brett
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