Santa Visit
We went to see Santa last week. For the first time ever, it was a little stressful on the kid. He *could not* decide what he wanted to ask Santa for. It ranged from a hexbug habitat to a domino race to blocks to about 47 other things. In the 2 days preceding our visit, I swear he changed his mind once an hour, if not more. Not a live puppy or a GameBoy, though, because Santa doesn’t deal in electronics or live animals.
Let me digress for a moment. Santa has boundaries. He does not bring electronics because not all children are allowed to play with them, and he doesn’t have the resources to make them at the North Pole. He doesn’t deal in live animals because that’s a decision families should make together, and Christmas is not the best time for a new pet. In trade, it is pretty much guaranteed that if you ask Santa for just one thing (outside of electronics or animals), he will bring it.
So we’re standing in line, and the kid *still* doesn’t know what he’s going to say. It’s his turn, he goes up, sits on the knee and has a quiet little convo with the guy in red. I panic, because I can’t hear what’s being said. I start to hyperventilate. Why? Because I have to, you know, “be prepared” for what “Santa” is going to bring. And it’s really hard to be prepared when you don’t know what it is. And what if the kid won’t tell me what he asked for? What then?
The kid finishes his turn, gets his candy cane and leaves. I ask him, probably a little too casually, what he asked for. I get the answer I was dreading, “You’ll see!”
As the “freak out” monologue runs through my head while I try to consider who I can enlist to gather some info, he stops walking.
“Mom! We have to go back!”
“Why?”
“I forgot to tell Santa not to make the stuffed dog I asked for too big!”
“Wait, what? You asked for a stuffed dog?”
“Yes. I figured if Santa gave me a stuffed dog, some other children could get what they really want. And if it’s small, there will be more room for toys for other kids.”
<insert proud mommy moment>
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Santa knows.”
