The Year the Magic Went Away

The Tooth Fairy almost got caught last night. My daughter woke up as the Fairy was attempting to make the swap, tooth for money. I'm not sure if it was the creak of the old wooden floors or the creak in the Fairy's aging knees.

The Tooth Fairy managed to sneak the $1 bill under her pillow, but was not able to sneak the tooth out. So we came up with a believable excuse as to why the tooth was still there. She seemed to be satisfied with that, though the topic was often brought up at the breakfast table.

But this comes on the heels of yesterday, when she told us that "some kids" were telling her that Santa was a fake. Here comes the end of her innocence, at the age of 9.

I never believed in Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, or trick-or-treated on Halloween. My parents felt strongly that the belief in this was in direct conflict with the religious beliefs they want to instill in my siblings and me as children. I do have a small memory of once finding an Easter Basket behind the living room piano. That was somewhere around age 3. That was it. And I do remember finding Cabbage Patch Dolls hiding in the basement when I was 9 or 10.

I'm not saying that my parents were wrong in growing us up this way. We never "outted" any magic to any other kids who did believe. Growing up we siblings knew the reason behind the Christmas Season (and Easter beyond), which my husband and I teach to our own children. The above mentioned friends are simply helpers during their holiday, spreading a little magic around.  My husband and I simply wanted to enjoy these parts of growing up with our children, so we do.

My husband asked our daughter last night if she believed Santa was real. She said, "Yes," but she didn't sound as solidly convinced as she was the day before, and the day before, and the day before.

I'm hoping that this little boy at school keeps his mouth quiet, and that we are able to pull this off for another year. I know it won't last forever, but I'm not ready for the Christmas and Santa magic to be gone from her beautiful smile.