Wight Yor Name

[bar5]

Wight Yor Name

By Cindy G.

Dedicated to the child in all of us, and to Kris Kringle.

Kris, I still miss you. You will live on in my heart forever.

When Taylor was born two friends gave me two tips for Christmas. One

friend told me to buy separate gift wrap, tags, and bows for presents

from Santa. Another friend told me to have someone else write on the tags

from Santa. I did not realize how important that handwriting tip was

going to be until a few years later.

I remember I was busy in the kitchen a few days after Christmas when

Taylor, who was three and a half years old, approached me. He said

something to me, but I could not hear him. "What?" I asked looking down

at him. Looking up at me with a solemn face, he held up a crayon and a

piece of paper. "Wight yor name," he said. I went to the table, sat down,

and wrote my name. Taylor quietly watched as I did this. After I had

finished writing my name, he left the table, and went into his bedroom.

When he returned he had in one hand a piece of paper with Geff''s

handwriting on it, and in the other hand he clutched a "Santa tag" he had

kept from Christmas Day. He laid them down on the table, got up on a

chair, arranged the 3 items, and studied them intensely.

"Nope, day not da same," he said. He looked at me with a big, bright

smile. "What are you talking about?" I asked him. "Dis kid towed me dat

Santa Claus is my mommy and daddy. He towed me to check da wighting next

yee-ah. I dew it now. " he said. He then jumped out of the chair, and

threw the samples of mine and Geff's handwriting into the garbage can.

With his belief in Santa restored, he bounced through the kitchen waving

the "Santa tag".

Five years has passed since that day. Taylor is growing in leaps and

bounds. He has been asking me a lot of interesting questions lately. Who

is St. Nicholas? (He was a man who loved children.) Why do people call

Santa Claus, St. Nicholas? (It's his nickname.) Reindeer can't really

fly, can they? (I'm not an animal behaviorist. You need to write to Jack

Hanna and ask him.) How does Rudolph's nose light up without hurting him?

(You mean without electrocuting him? I have no idea, you need to call and

ask an electrician.) etc..

I believe Taylor and I have developed a mutual understanding during

these question and answer sessions. He wants to know, but he hesitates

when asking his questions, and I only give as much information as needed

in answering his questions. I can see the doubt flicker across his face,

but he doesn't question me to a great extent. He seems to be content for

now. He isn't really ready for the truth, and I definitely am not ready

to tell him. I feel that Santa is the only link left to that little boy

who bounced through the kitchen after he realized the handwritings were

"not da same". I know the day will come in the near future when he will

no longer believe in Santa, and our last link to that little boy will be

gone forever. Until that day arrives we will leave things as they are.

Someday when Taylor has a little one of his own, I will remind him

about buying separate gift wrap, tags, and bows for presents from Santa.

I will also remind him to have someone else write on the tags from Santa.

Who knows, maybe someday, years from now, he will be standing in his

own kitchen, and hear a soft, little voice say, "Wight yor name."

[jimras]

Oh Barb.....what wonderful advise

I will pass that on to my kids for their kids......

Marry Christmas!!!

jr

[JSKY]

That's cool! I like this story.

I'll bet it was a wonderous christmas feeling.

[Honda_Boy]

That's a nice story.

My parents pulled a fast one though. They never wrapped the Santa presents. They just left them under the tree wrapless for us to look at while we waited for them to get up.

[echobay]

Awww.. What a sweet little story barb! Thanks for sharing it!