Santa Breakfast...

In a couple of minutes I'll be bringing the kids to the PTA's Annual "Santa Breakfast". They have pancakes and sausages, lots of toppings and syrup, then crafts afterwards for the kids to assemble. Of course, Santa will be there, listening to what all the boys and girls would like for Christmas, with Mom and Dad listening attentively off to the side, cameras popping and ideas forming.

There's only two weeks until Christmas, which means the kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement, counting down the days and hours until Santa comes and fills their stocking and gives them presents. This is the first year that TheBoy hasn't believed, another bittersweet milestone along the road to adulthood. It was inevitable, of course; he's a bright kid and started wondering about the logistics of one person visiting every home across the world in one night, that sort of thing, and finally asked outright. We explained the concept of the spirit of Christmas, how we've all got a bit of Santa inside us; how the magic of Christmas keeps the idea of Santa alive.

He doesn't get it, of course; right now all he knows is that he's in on the secret and his sister isn't. We've asked him not to spoil it for her, but there are no threats behind it - she's going to find out sooner or later, and there's little sense delaying the inevitable. If we can make it through this year with one believer in the family, that's good enough for me - we'll take next year as it comes. For now, we're just happy that there's a little Christmas magic left.

And that there's only two weeks of the craziness left.

That is all.