I am asked many questions throughout the year. Some deserve merit. Others aren’t even good enough to respond with a “DUH”. This time of year is special because someone always ends up looking at me with complete amazement as if they never had a conversation with me EVER and they wonder if I believe in Santa Claus.
What amuses me most is when they attempt to prove his nonexistence. They use logic, reason, and usually physics as proof. While those are extremely good analytical ways to prove or disprove anything. They really have absolutely no bearing on Santa Claus. Yes, I believe in Santa Claus and here are my reasons why…
I believe in dreams and the power they hold. A dream can move a mountain, cross a river, and break down a wall. The crazier the dream…the more impact it has over a life and the more willing I am to risk everything and follow it through.
I believe in hope and the reassurance it brings. Hope stands against the obstacles. It’s the umbrella in the torrential downpour where water is falling from the sky, splashing up from the ground, and the wind is blowing it sideways. I’m bound to get wet from head to toe, but the rain is going to end, eventually I will dry, and the rainbow will be glorious.
I believe in love and the confidence it shows. Love for anything is a presence. It’s seeps through words and actions undetected and over-looked by the masses and yet comforted in silence by the few. It stems from understanding and compassion. Love survives when nothing else can. It’s what’s left when my world crashes around me and provides me with the second chances I need to give. Whether that chance is for me or for others around me.
There is nothing easy about any of them. Each take work and persistence to achieve and if taken for granted can be lost in a mindless second. There is no logic to a dream. No reason to hope. There are no physics to love. Yet, given all the complications would anyone want a life without any of these three possibilities?
Do I believe an over-weight man with an affinity to hot chocolate and cookies has the ability to shrink himself into fitting down my chimney and leaving me a bottle of White Diamonds or a white gold tennis bracelet are going to left under the tree Christmas morning? Of course, not. But, I believe in what he represents: dreams, hope and love.
So, for those of you who are amazed by this one little aspect of me…keep in mind my biggest attribute is I have faith in the non-tangibles of Life, in my friends, and in myself.
By the way…I have two favorite moments every holiday season (and it probably explains why I’m reluctant to take down my tree). The first moment is watching Emma look at the Christmas tree lit up in the dark. Every year, she gazes at it with wonder. She looks at the ornaments, the beads, the lights, etc. I can see the hope on her face and the dreams start forming. My second moment is on Christmas morning. I wake up early. Put on classical music. Light up the tree. Get breakfast started. That’s when I sit by the light of my tree and watch the lights play off the beads and ornaments while drinking either coffee or mimosas. I remember my friends and family, dreams that changed, and the possibilities for the coming year. More importantly…I thank God for each one.
