Noah recently declared that he doesn't believe in Santa anymore. The news broke my heart a little. Okay, a lot. And I was grappling with how to deal with this new reality.
At first, I thought of bombarding him with the Santa proof here (and even add this new one here). But I later decided it didn't make sense to convince him Santa is real, when he really actually isn't.
It took me a while to figure out why it affected me so much. Watching Rise of the Guardians helped me realize that it wasn't mere wistfulness at my 7-year old boy growing up so fast that bothered me. It was a fear that he would lose what believing in Santa represents.
In the movie, Santa showed nesting dolls of his character - how he's seen as jolly or even mysterious. But his "center" - the smallest Santa doll was wide-eyed because Santa's "center" - is wonder.
That's what I was afraid Noah would lose... Childlike wonder... The ability to marvel at magic and have faith in a fairytale's happy ending.
Then at bedtime on the day we watched Rise of the Guardians, Noah urged me to pray that he wouldn't have a bad dream. I was still distraught and so grabbed the opportunity to push another childhood myth from the movie on him, "But Sandman will make sure you have good dreams." He adamantly replied, "That's fantasy, not reality!", and demanded we pray. Immediately after our prayer, he was okay - suddenly unafraid. And I realized he hadn't lost the ability to marvel at magic & believe in a happy ending. He believes in God's miraculous power. And that's the only real magic there is anyway. :)
Rise of the Guardians is showing now in cinemas. Collect Rise of the Guardian toys with your McDonald's Happy Meal!
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