[M.D. Holloway]

The other night our 10yr old Son asked me the age old question "Dad, is there really such a thing as Santa? I mean, is he real?" I guess it is every parents wish to keep the magic and awe of Christmas alive in their children for as long as possible. I do not know any parents who will offer up to their kids that Santa is just a myth and a custom. I was in a bit of a pickle though. My Son and I have a very special relationship - we will never lie to each other, ever. It is a promise we made many years ago and held true to this day. I looked at him and smiled. "I got to know Dad. Its important!"

So I thought for a few more seconds and decided to try my best at keeping the magic alive while offering up a suitable explanation. "Well, what your asking me is if something is real or not and to that it is a tough thing to answer. You see, I know that the color blue is real but you can't show me blue only something that is blue. I know money is real yet you can't give me $1 only a piece of paper that represents a dollar. We could go to the Texas state line where it meets Oklahoma and agree that the line is someplace but you can't find it. It is agreed upon."

"Dad, OK...but what does that have to do with Santa?"

"Well, it has to do with what we choose to believe. You see, as you get older you may have noticed that there seems to be more and more bad things that happen and you hear about bad people right?"

"Well, ya. Its kinda scary Dad."

"Yes, it is but it doesn't have to be. Now take Santa. Here is a guy that has dedicated his entire life to making kids happy just one day out of the year. He doesn't want any money or recognition. At best we put out milk and cookies for the old boy to keep his energy up but he has never asked for anything other than for kids to be nice. That's it. That's pretty cool."

"Ya, it is pretty cool isn't it."

"Yup, Now is he real? I want to believe he is because the idea of someone like that makes me feel really good about things and in this world I think the more stuff that we have that is good in our lives the better life we will have. So, real or not - doesn't matter. I want to believe him to be real like I believe in the color blue, the dollar and the Texas state line so Santa is real to me. Believing in Santa will never hurt you. Do you understand?"

He looked at me intently. Our eyes were fixed on each others for several seconds before he said "Dad, I got to know because if Santa isn't real then I gotta start saving money to buy my kids presents some day!"

I felt a lump in my throat. Here he was not worried about what he was gonna get but rather how he was gonna buy presents for kids he didn't have yet.

"Son, I don't think I would worry about that - even if you had all the money in the world, you still would want more for your kids! If you ever need some help buying your kids presents, let me know when the time comes, I think I can help you out..."

"Thanks Dad, I love you."

"I love you too buddy."