on the walk

[Warning: This post contains some spoilers about Santa.  You may not want to read with your children in the room]

Santa visited the Winter Craft Festival at my boys school this Saturday.  It was my favorite kind of Santa: real beard and hair, overalls and read flannel.  It was the kind of Santa that knows when a formal red suit is out of place.  He came in and said a few ho ho ho’s and then sat down to talk to the kids.

My son Evan, knows that Santa is fiction. In his words, “It is a good fiction story because it helps us remember to give people presents.”  Nevertheless he was eager to get a turn on Santa’s lap.  I found myself pondering as the children patiently and quietly waited for a turn on Santa’s lap how beautiful it was to see children respond to an adult that is so clearly their for them.

This lovely man beamed love and concern for each child.  He asked their name and listened to them talk.  He gave them each his undivided attention.  In return, the children loved him.  Evan commented that the man who was pretending to be Santa was really nice to him.  I am not generally a huge fan of the Santa mythology, but if it prompts kind older men to stop and really care for and be for children, I will bite my tongue.
There are too few adults who are willing to fully enter the world of children.   I know my kids can tell the difference between my presence in their lives and my attention to their lives.  My son has already learned to ask, “Daddy, are you are here, or are you thinking about a book?”

On this topic I must mention on man at our church whom my children love.  They call him the candy man, and for the purposes of this post, that is name enough.  Every Sunday they look for him, and if they find him, he gets down on the floor to their level.  He reaches into his big bag, welcomes them to church and gives them a piece of  candy.  In every way, you can tell that he if their for those children, and they know it.  Someday I may have to correct Evan when he says that Santa is a fiction story.

on the walk

-Ethan

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