No matter how we arrange them, or their hair, they just have their own ideas of how photo shoots should unfold.
Smile, we say.
I mean a real smile. This isn't the dentist, Nakiah.
A little closer. But lacking enthusiasm. Maybe if we try to appeal to their silly sides.
Well, we might as well have some fun here!
Fun and silly. Candid is good.
Silly, yes. Though I'm not sure I'll be putting this into any outgoing Christmas cards........On second thought, that might shake things up a little.
how about this one?
"Enough is as a good as a feast!" ~ Mary Poppins
Today is the 2nd day of Christmas (two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!)
Nakiah's question of the day: "Mommy, how come this toy says that it was made in China and not the north pole?" (Ouch! Note to self: shop fair trade more frequently)
"Ummmm, go ask your dad."
Turns out Daddy was on top of the game and explained how Santa commissions people in China to help him make all the Christmas toys.
Nakiah was satisfied to learn there was a reasonable explanation, but it only serves to remind us that her little heart will sink when she learns the truth, likely to be by next year. I admit, I have never liked this lie, have tried not to encourage it, and yet have never disabused them of it either.
I could start my own little support group of parents straddling the Santa Clause fence. Who wants to join?
Wishing you all a real and merry after-Christmas.
3 comments:
After seeing all the beautiful pics and clips, Lauryn speaks for us all when she says, "Oh, cuuute!"
And we are torn every year over whether or not to perpetuate the "lie" that only gives them a false sense of hope and wonder, so we can selfishly soak up fleeting moments of excitement and joy that we take part in creating, at the expense of shattering that hope with increased awareness and maybe perhaps even hesitation to further trust the people they rely on most.
So, while we always put emphasis on Christmas being about God's greatest gift to us, we've decided to neither encourage nor discourage the "lie", by leaving them to come to their own conclusions in their own time with this response to ANY questions regarding the matter: "what do you think?"
The premise of hope and believing in someone that is so generous and lovable is not something I want to take away from my children, but rather re-direct it to it's rightful place. Not an easy task when they get to an age in which the opinions of their peers get more respect than Mom and Dad's.
But hopefully, accepting this challenge will allow us to maintain integrity in our children's eyes and give birth to critical thinking that will help them find TRUTH in this crazy world.
Well said, dear sister. I really like your response.
Perhaps they will start to unravel the truth when they decide they want to know what we think as well. Maybe we have a couple years yet!
there you are! so lovely to see the girls omg how they have grown. On the way home from school one day Solace asked me if I was the tooth fairy. She had had a conversation w/ school friends apparently. When I came clean she did the math and assumed we were also Santa & the Easter Bunny. I have done my best to remind her that it's the SPIRIT of the holiday and to point her towards the origins of these traditions. I still believe :)
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