There is no such thing as Santa Claus
With the holidays approaching I can’t help but think about my childhood. My dad was really big on Santa when I was a kid. Looking back at all the toys Santa brought me as a child seems a little excessive now that I am a parent.
I was always suspicious about the existence of Santa. He just seemed too good to be true. My parents assured me he was real over and over again. Still I doubted, so I would make them promise he was real, and they would.
I was 7 before I found any hard evidence that Santa didn’t exist. I remember looking around that Christmas Eve very carefully, paying attention to the tiniest details.
In the morning, the first thing I noticed was a closet door that was slightly ajar. I pointed out to my parents that the door was completely closed when we went to bed, and they just tried distracting me with my new presents. Later in the morning, I found the wrapping paper and colored tape that had been used to wrap my presents. My parents said Santa wrapped the presents while he was putting them under the tree. I couldn’t break them, they had an answer for everything.
The following Christmas came as quickly as they all seem to. This year, my parents weren’t together and I stayed with my dad on Christmas Eve. I fell asleep as soon as possible. The next morning, I had a feeling that Santa just wasn’t coming. I lingered in bed just a little while longer until my curiosity got the best of me. My suspicions were right. Santa had not come.
I went back to bed, and stared at the ceiling. I think I even felt a little foolish. About 2 minutes passed, and I heard my dad jump out of his bed and run out the front door. A few more minutes passed and I heard him come back in. I suspect he knew I had already been up and seen that Santa had not come. He had to act quickly so he yelled out, “Thanks Santa! See you next year!” Santa had brought me a new bike.
I never said anything to my dad about that morning. I just let him think he had tricked me again. He likes to think he’s smarter than me. But I knew, if I said anything I would not be getting anything good for Christmas the next year.
