We were packing up, getting ready for our annual trip to see Santa when my oldest came close, lowered his voice so his brothers wouldn't hear him and said, "Mom, do I have to go see Santa? None of my friends do that anymore."
I felt a slight crack in my heart!
We've gone to this same place to see this same Santa since the year my oldest was born. This man has held every one of my children. His face graces every one of our Christmas photos (except one - my mistake).
We have a tradition of lining our kitchen cabinet doors with the photos during the holidays. They remind us of the beautiful gifts God has given to us and help us mark the passage of time. They make us very aware how fast time slips by. (Someday, I will run out of cabinet doors!)
My husband recently questioned whether we needed to continue the tradition since the boys all know Santa isn't real. I reminded him we have a two-year-old and that we have many more years of visiting Santa. He was thrilled!
For me (and I reminded my son), it's not about seeing Santa. He's just our excuse. Once a year, we get to sneak away for a day of shopping and fun while everyone else is having school.
We get to get away from normal.
We eat at our favorite places (this year everyone was hungry for Japanese).
We teach our children to think of others first and to be generous with each other.
We celebrate the One who is our greatest gift.
When we finally got to the picture taking, the boys climbed in Santa's lap and huddled close for the photo. When we were done, my husband shook Santa's hand and Santa said, "I remember the first time you brought them in."
We couldn't believe that after twelve years and thousands and thousands of children, he could remember our family.
But then again, we've always been somewhat of a spectacle.
Josiah's first Santa visit - 1998
Ellison and Aidan's first Santa visit - 2002
Bennett's first Santa visit - 2008
This year's Santa visit - 2010
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