Maybe I shouldn't be upset. But I am.
Yesterday my daughter came home from school upset because
one of her teachers called me a liar.
She didn't single me out by name, but she might as well have.
She told her class that if their parents had told them that
Santa was real then they were liars, because Santa does not exist. And for that matter neither does the tooth
fairy.
Now I realize that teachers have an incredibly tough
job. I've always done my best to do what
I can to support them. But if you're
going to call me a liar then you've lost my support, trust and respect. And what's worse is that my daughter doesn't
feel she can trust or respect you now either.
So congratulations teacher. In
one fell swoop you made a difficult job infinitely harder.
You see, my daughter knows who to trust. I've always been there for her. Teachers will come and go from her life, but
parents are forever.
I won't try to convince my daughter that she should trust
and respect this teacher. Quite the opposite. I will explain to her that her teacher was
out of line, and that furthermore, she was outright wrong. And I will use the story of "A Child's
Wonder" to make it clear. The story
goes like this…..
"Daddy," she
said, her eyes full of tears,
"will you talk to
me and quiet my fears?"
Those bad boys at
school are spreading a lie
'bout the
impossibility of reindeer that fly.
There's no Santa
Claus, they say with a grin,
There's not one now
and never has been.
How can one man take
all those toys
To thousands of girls
and boys?
But I told them Daddy,
that they were not right.
That I would come home
and find out tonight.
Mama said wait until
you get home.
Please tell me now
that I was not wrong."
Her Daddy looked at
her questioning face
And puffed his pipe
while his frantic mind raced.
He had put this thing
off as long as he could,
He had to think fast
and it better be good.
Whispering a prayer,
he began with a smile
"Well climb on my
lap, dear, let's talk a while."
"Remember at
church how we learned to pray,
Asking God to take
care of us each day?
And you know how we
say grace before each meal?
To this same God whom
we know to be real
Though we never see
Him, we know He is there
Watching his children
with such loving care."
"God started
Christmas a long time ago
When He gave us His
son to love and to know.
A spirit of giving
came with that birth,
And God's generosity
filled the whole earth.
Man had to name this
spirit of giving
Just as He names all
the things that are living."
"The name Santa
Claus came to someone's mind
Probably the best name
of any to find.
There is, you can see,
and I think it quite clear,
Truly a Santa who
visits each year.
A spirit like God,
whom we never see.
He enters the hearts
of your mother and me."
"Each year at
Christmas for one special night
We become him and make
everything right.
But the REAL spirit of
Christmas is in you and in me,
And I hope you are old
enough now to see
That as we believe and
continue to give,
Our friend Santa Claus
will continue to live."
Kids today grow up fast enough. If my daughter wants to hang on to this part
of her childhood, so be it. It's not
hurting anything.
So, to the teacher who tried to break my daughter's spirit,
I feel bad for you. I don't know what
the real cause behind your remarks were, but I'm not a liar and your comments
were unwelcome and unjustified.
Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go find our Christmas stockings.
Santa may not be coming to your house, but he's definitely
coming to mine!
