“There’s no such thing as Santa.” Those words burned in my ears and trickled down into my heart. I cried. I refused to believe what my neighborhood friend just told me. My 8-year-old heart couldn’t take the pain.
I yelled at her with tears rolling down my face, “there is a Santa!” Then, I ran home to tell my mom. I wanted so badly for my mom to tell me that what I just heard wasn’t true (that he did exist). Maybe she was taken off guard. Maybe she wasn’t prepared. Maybe she thought I was ready. But, she confirmed what my friend had told me that day.
I looked at her in disbelief. My life was changed forever. The magic of Santa was gone.
I ran to my room and decided, no matter what people told me, I was still going to believe.
Fast forward 22 years later, I’m now a mom of two little kids (a 3 year old and a 1 year old). So, of course they believe; and, I’m going to keep it that way as long as I can.
Why? I want them to be little as long as they can. I don’t want them to have to grow up too quickly. Taking away their imagination at such a young age takes away creativity. We need creativity. Great entrepreneurs need creativity to come up with innovative ways to start a new company. Artists need creativity to make masterpieces. Authors need creativity to write. And so on.
Yesterday, I heard a different view. He shared that we should tell the truth right away. That if we lie now about Santa, what else will our children think we’re lying about later. So, this made me think.