I Believe

Lindsey has been testing us all season, wondering if we will give away whether or not Santa is real. 

"Do YOU believe, Mommy?" she asks. "How can he get to all the kids in the world in one night? My friends say their parents are Santa, but I still believe he's real."

You can practically feel her still wanting to believe. She wishes so much for it to be true. When she stumbled across our special Santa wrapping paper a couple of weeks ago, she seemed to believe Wayne's explanation that Santa magically wraps gifts while here if the elves couldn't get it done before the big trip. 

Lindsey wrote her letter to Santa several weeks ago. She put a few drawings of her and Santa on it, then gave it to me and asked me to mail it from work, after promising not to read it. Which, of course, I did. But I did keep my word and mailed her letter. Put a stamp on it and everything. 

I showed her this photo, as proof to her that I had mailed it. She was satisfied.

Imagine my surprise when today in the mail she receives a letter from Santa. The return envelope says "Santa Claus, North Pole."

And this letter was enclosed.

Lindsey's eyes grew wide as she read it. She walked around in silence, reading it to herself. Then she looked at me and smiled. 

"He really IS real!" she says. 

Whether or not Santa is a real person, he is real in spirit, embodied in kind and amazing people all over this world, who have no idea how incredibly happy they made one little girl tonight.

Thank you, Santa.