Christmas, 1999
Dearest Emma Rose,
You are eleven years old now and in just a few months you will be a seventh grader already. That is just five short years from being a senior in high school like Ethan is right now. Amazing!
As we grow up, many things change. Some of the things that change are easy to see. Other things are hidden inside of us. The way we look at the world changes. The things that we believe and the reasons we believe them also change as we grow up.
All of us believe in Santa Claus when we are young. And hopefully we keep believing in Santa when we are grown up. But the way that we believe in him is different than when we were children.
But all of us eventually find out or figure out that Santa Claus isn't "real" in the same way that Christmas trees and presents and our mom and dad are "real". But Santa is real in other ways that are more important than whether or not he actually comes and visits and drops off presents.
You are a very smart person. You've figured out by now that the world has some mean and dangerous things in it. Nobody knows why that is. But the world also has a lot of wonderful and beautiful things in it. Santa Claus is a symbol of some of these wonderful and beautiful things: abundance, thinking of others before oneself, good surprises instead of bad surprises, and sharing with others.
Since you are elevent years old, we thought it would be a good idea to you that Santa Claus is a real idea but not a real person or a real thing. Having enough and more than enough; giving and receiving; and hoping that there is some magic in life are very "real" but not in the same way that cat and dogs are real. Even though Santa as a "real" person that comes in the night and leaves presents fades away as we grow up, we try hard to keep what Santa Claus stands for alive and well.
We love you very much.
Merry merry Christmas, 1999
Mom and Dad