pass a tissue please

It happened.

When Jonathan was a baby we spent time musing over the "what do we do about Santa Claus" question. In the end, Jonathan's personality made the choice obvious. He was and is a fierce truth, black and white, soul who desperately needs his parent's words to always be historically accurate and crystal clear. He is a master of justice and is mystified by teasing or inference.

So this year when 4 year old Keona asked about Santa Claus, the stage had already been set. "Yes, Santa Claus is real. He was a real person who lived long ago known as Saint Nicholas...He is now in heaven but his real life inspired people through the centuries to celebrate the spirit of generosity by dressing as he did and giving gifts..." Beautiful. Pass a tissue please.

But Keona's teacher informed us that our normally dramatic daughter reduced it all to just the facts. Though we had clearly explained the need to stay quiet when other kids talked about Santa Claus, Keona waited with her hand up at pre-school while the teacher told a Santa Claus story.

"Yes, Keona. You've been waiting so patiently so long. What would you like to say?" Ms. Laura inquired.

"Santa's dead," Keona said.

Thankfully Ms. Laura responded quickly, saved the day, and the class survived the brutal truth.

I'd be losing some sleep over it except that I'm still recovering from this week's list of Jonathan's questions:

"Are you going through PUBERTY?!" (Asked of every single person, including the bewildered Master's Commission assistants, in the 4th through 8th grade homeschool mad-scientist gathering)

"Do you have any teeth? You should go to the dentist!" (Said to the elderly man being wheeled by his equally toothless daughter into the doctor's office)

"Do you have a baby in your tummy?" (Asked of anyone, male or female, with more than a 24 inch waist)

I'm sure there will be more tomorrow :-).