Daelyn's Visit to Santa

Now that the Christmas Faire's out of the way, Daelyn and I hit the Mall this morning with his friend, Auggie. I took the boys to look at the Christmas decorations (of which there were very few) and to see Santa. We got there early and I wasn't even sure the Santa Booth was open, but Santa stood up, waved to us, then came around and let down the barrier so we could walk up the ramp.

Daelyn talked non-stop (big surprise). Santa began to say, "Here, come sit on this knee", but before he got the words out, Daelyn had climbed into his lap and started rattling off questions and his gift list, etc. He talked on and on. Santa glanced up at me with a gentle smile. I encouraged Daelyn to finish up and let Auggie have a turn in Santa's lap.

I helped Daelyn down and took him by the hand. Auggie climbed up into Santa's lap and began his laundry list of weapons he wanted for Christmas, starting with a sword that made noise, like his brother's, moving on to a knife, then a Ninja mask and Ninja belt. When Santa's eyes glazed over, I grabbed Auggie and moved HIM off Santa's lap. By this time, two women and their children were waiting for their turn with Santa. I thanked him for listening, he reached down into a bowl and pulled out a coloring book for each of the boys, and Daelyn looked him straight in the eye.

"Are you the REAL Santa?" my little guy asked.

Santa moved forward to the edge of his seat. He leaned towards Daelyn and touched his beard. "Grab this," he told Daelyn. "Tug on it and see if it's real." Daelyn gave the obligatory tug. "Now," Santa responded, "pull my hair and see if it's real." Once again, Daelyn reached up and tugged on Santa. The very gray beard and hair were, obviously, real.

"Now, what do you think?" Santa asked Daelyn. "Are they real?"

"Yes," Daelyn responded, simply.

"So, am I the real Santa," he asked.

"No."

Santa's mouth dropped open. I stood staring at Daelyn. Before either of us could respond, Daelyn launched into his story about meeting Santa in Anaheim. Santa stood up and listened. He asked me a few questions. He seemed genuinely interested. In the end, Daelyn explained, "I've met the real Santa, and you're not him."

There wasn't much else to be said. We thanked him for his time and I ushered the boys off the stage.

Later, while shopping in Hallmark, Daelyn asked if he could go talk with Santa again.

"I really like him, Mommy, even if he isn't the REAL Santa. He's nice, and I bet he's one of Santa's friends."

I'm sure he is, son, I'm sure he is.