Friday, December 23, 2011

The Christmas Spirit


The Real Santa!
Lego Santa
Since he was pretty young, Cooper has loved Santa. Not just on a "the guy who brings me presents"love, but the long- lost-favorite- relative-who-knows-me-better-than-anyone love. Some of hi first words were "Santa Pom-Pom", complete with a little hand gesture to indicate the pom Pom at the tip of Santa's hat (in case you weren't bright enough to figure that out...) We listen to Christmas carols all year long ,and generally every third drawing Cooper has done is of Santa. He talks about traveling to the North Pole as his next vacation plan. This boy loves Santa. That said, until this year, he's not quite been able to follow along with the story lines for more complicated Christmas stories (think Polar Express), and his carols were pretty limited. This year, however, has been a banner year for Santa- not only have we had 4 or 5 official sightings, but he's added "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Silent Night", and "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" to his musical repertoire.
 The highlight, however, is a two part story: on Wednesday, we went to my mom and stepdad's YMCA for a "Breakfast with Santa" deal. Cooper spotted him before he'd even entered the room, and peppered him with questions: "Where's Mrs. Claus? Who's watching the reindeer? Are you going back to the North Pole? Where's your sleigh?" It was clear that the affection was mutual, and Santa chatted him up for as long as the elves would let him. BUT, here's the highlight: this morning, we were back at the YMCA, finishing up when who should walk in, ready for his workout, but Santa!! Sure enough, in case you wondered, Santa works out at the La Jolla YMCA on a regular basis! Cooper recognized him immediately, and rushed to greet him. He asked about the Claus family, the reindeer, and, of course, what kind of exercises Santa does.  It was a magical moment- to see that window of true belief, where Santa is as likely to be seen, sitting kids on his lap, ringing the Salvation Army bell, or going in for a workout. 

 And on that note, we send you our warmest wishes, with love and affection to each of you, and the hope that we each may work to see the good in people, and to act in ways that bring our dreams one step closer to reality.