Merry Christmas! This year we are in St George again. We drove down together on Thurday and have enjoyed a beautiful weekend of boys, football throwing, presents, noise and legos. There were just a couple of things I wanted to talk about to make note of.
First is that I came down here just last week. My sister had a rough go of driving to California for the holiday and her husband ended up in the hospital. A very frightened little girl called her uncle addie and asked me to come get her. So I did. G&C were very kind and helped us with no end. Then after a few days we drove home together.
Second happened a few weeks ago. School was still in and the semester winding down. David has taken to running down the street to play with the Liufau boys in the afternoon, either basketball, football or just tag. Then he discovered a pair of relatively under-utilized rollerblades. And he was hooked. He began to ask me everyday to take him to the roller-rink. Much to my discredit, I always had an excuse why it wouldn't work; I got home too late from work, the snow was too deep, I hurt my bad. All of which were legitimate at the time but still not understandable from a 10-year-old perspective.
Finally I decided that I must take him on a dAddie dAte even though I wouldn't be able to skate because of my back. So we went and got to icecream from McDonalds and parked in the Cabela's lot overlooking all of Utah Valley. We talked about a thousand things and really enjoyed to moment. But then David got quite serious.
"Dad, I know I'm not allowed to use the 10-second rule yet but you can and I really need you too." Oh dear, this is big. "Dad, I need to know, is Santa Claus real?"
Oh man, you know that question is coming someday but you never expect it and it always hurts when it finally does. I cried a bit inside and then did the best I could to respond appropriately. "What do you think D?" He told me about his friends at school and how it was a really hot button topic right now. He was pretty much 50/50 on the proposition and decided that he'd just go to me to resolve it. There's something really special about having an innocent child trust you to guide and lead them in their most vulnerable state.
"Well David, I'll tell you this, I don't know for certain if Santa does exist because I've never seen him myself. However, I will tell you, 10-second Rule, that I do believe in Santa and the miracle of Christmas." We went on and talked about how sometimes Parents to have to help Santa and how the logistics of getting down chimney's work (magic), the good things that Christmas does and the people we become because of those events.
I remember having that same conversation with Brigham and Mackay. It's a terrible conversation and a great conversation. A moment in life where a child loses a touch of their innocence and yet becomes a little more aware of the world around them. It is fascinating to see these boys grow up. I know this is how you have to grow up, I just would that in some way it were a bit easier to get to that point.
Merry Christmas 2021.
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