meeting the man himself

friday night my winter wish came true; i got the quintessential snapshot of my little boy with santa. of course i didn't even realize this was my winter wish until i saw him through the glass. santa claus. without any line. just waiting. for a darling little boy to sit upon his lap.

we were out and about in the quaint downtown where we live. the old buildings with windows outlined in lights conjures bedford falls every year. so picturesque. to tell you the truth, we hardly ever take benji out after bedtime, but this was a good excuse; the town celebrated the official switch of twinkle lights. we bundled up and moseyed the city streets, i was humming christmas songs the whole time. there were carriage rides and chocolate treats. it was a perfect night. we passed by a pretty art gallery and i peered inside. my jaw dropped. i spied santa claus perfectly perched for his gig. hardwood floors, oil paintings, a grand piano and santa claus. what could possibly be better? i had no idea why he was there or what private party i was about to crash, but santa is santa. i suddenly had to introduce him to my little one.

i took dan's hand and led him around to the entrance, giving my one year old a quick tutorial on santa. benji was bewildered and in awe of the giant man. he toddled toward him. i'd assumed benji might become a bit nervous or clingy or maybe have a complete fit over meeting this colorful stranger. but benji eagerly went to him with what i saw as sugar plums dancing in his eyes. of course it could have been the allure of shiny plastic cloaking a candy cane in santa's hand. santa was as kind and jolly and lovely as you'd imagine him to be. we placed benji on his knee and reported what a good boy he's been. benji's wish list is comprised of anything with wheels. (have i mentioned that my boy loves wheels? put him in a department store, a library, a post office, sportsmans warehouse... and he will hunt for an object with wheels. the librarians are often stopped by this cute cart cop. if he could spin gold on a wheel with rumplestiltskin, am sure he would.)

all this to say, meeting santa claus was magic. more for me than for benji i'm sure, as so many events are in these first few years. however, to me the occasion marked the beginning of childhood christmases, the beginning of family traditions, the beginning of believing.



merry christmas, st. nick.