It was March 2001 around Easter, and I was driving my daughter home from preschool. She was unusually quiet in the backseat, so I asked her, “Is there anything on your mind?”
We were stopped at a red light at the time, so I watched her from my rear view mirror as she finally piped up.
Holly: Mom I have a question
Me: What is it?
Holly: Will you tell me the truth?
Me: Of course
Holly: Promise?
Me: Yes.
Holly: Is there really an Easter bunny, because it doesn’t make sense to me. How can a bunny deliver baskets of candy when all he does is hop? I am so confused!
The light turned green. I pondered what to tell her, but at that moment I couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation. How does a bunny deliver baskets? Maybe if I hadn’t been driving I could have come up with something brilliant to tell her to cover up the fib we have been telling our children about this magical bunny.
Me: Well…(I promised to tell the truth. God looking back that is such a lame excuse. Don’t do it. Please DON’T DO IT!)
Mommy and daddy are the Easter bunnies, and we hide the basket for you.
You moron- You could have told her that you hid the basket where the Easter bunny told you to hide it. You could have told her anything but that. Come on she is four! (I hate after-the-fact-eight-years-later-internal-dialogue.)
She was very quiet and I suspected that she was digesting the holiday blow in her mind. Then she started with the questions again:
Holly: Mom?
Me: Yes, honey.
Holly: If there is no Easter bunny does that mean there is no Santa Claus too? Are you and daddy Santa?
Me: Yes baby we are…SHIIIIT!…. (That was even worse.)
Holly: That is terrible news.
At four! How could I have done that to her at four! After reading this entry if you decide that you want to stop reading my blog altogether I completely understand. (I can feel the hate mail coming in right now.) I will let you know that I do feed and clothe her, so I am not that bad of a mother.
I did manage to salvage some of the Christmas magic for her. At her grandparents house you can see a red blinking light in the distance. Her grandfather had told her that that was Santa’s workshop. (Bless his heart.) So when we got home I had a serious talk with her. I told her that her grandfather still believed that Santa was real. I asked her to not to let on that she knew Santa wasn’t real. She promised that she would never ever let him know that she knew our special secret. Cross her heart. At least one of us can keep a secret.
We spend Christmas Eve, and Christmas morning with my in-laws, so that helped my scheme. True to her word she put out the cookies, and she acted like she was surprised on Christmas morning when she received her stocking from “Santa”. When her grandfather pointed out the red blinking light she agreed that it indeed was Santa’s workshop, and that Santa’s elves must be hard at work.
I think she figured out that her grandfather “maybe” doesn’t really believe in Santa, but she has never asked him. She learned THAT lesson well when she was four. However she still does things to make her grandfather believe Santa is real. She will tell him that she heard Santa’s Reindeers on the roof. She may even point out the blinking red light from time-to-time. One thing I know for sure is I am so happy that “Farfar” (That is grandfather in Danish.) saved Christmas for Holly.
P.S.
By the way Holly never asked me if there was a tooth fairy. Good for her. I will let you know that her tooth fairy feels that she has to make up for all the other magical beings lost. As a result the fairy leaves Holly $5.00 a tooth. When Holly lost her top two front teeth she got $20.00 per tooth. Guilt can be very expensive.
4 comments:
How sweet that she keeps the secret from her grandfather. Don't feel bad, if you hadn't told her one of her friends would have. Kids today learn that stuff so early but I think you salvaged it.
you've raised a very sweet sensitive daughter..... how cute to Keep Pappy happy......
aw, I grew up without ever believing in Santa Claus. I think my parents tried with my older brother but he figured it out early and after that the gig was up for the rest of us. No worries, we turned out pretty normal and loving Christmas anyway, and I'm sure your daughter will too. :)
Dear Amy,
The Easter Bunny is the guy who outed Santa Claus in my house too....when my son was 5. On Easter night, my way-too-smart-for-his-own-good son said to my sister and I "So, this Easter Bunny thing...." He made a good case. So,I gently told him. Then...he hit me with the Santa question. So, I dug deep and told him that if he did not believe, he would not receive. He did not go for that. So, I tried the "magic of Christmas" spiel. No go. So, my sister and I gave in and told him....with all kind of psycho mumbo jumbo attached to it. Broke our hearts. When I recanted the story to my boss the next day (a man in his late 50's at the time), I thought he was going to fire me over it!!! LOL!
As for my daughter....who is now 17....she just informed me the other day that I never told her there wasn't a Santa Claus. Probably because she never asked!
As for your story....I love it. And, I think you taught your daughter a lesson much more valuable than believing in Santa!
Judi
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