I am having a bit of a dilemma. The kind of moral dilemma that makes me wonder if I would be a bad parent for doing what I'm thinking of doing.
I want to tell my kids there is no Santa.
Before anyone gets all judgy, hear me out. I have some very valid reasons and I think they would benefit from knowing.
My biggest reason is Joshua is almost 11 and he still talks about Santa. Having Autism puts him a few years behind other kids his age on an emotional and maturity level. He has to deal with so much on a daily basis that I don't want him to be made fun of for still believing in old St. Nick. This age can be hard enough without giving someone another reason to kick your ass.
Reason number 2. I'm sick of that fat bastard getting all the credit. Within reason I want to make all my children's Christmas wishes come true. Christmas is a magical time and to keep some of that magic I have subjected myself to bodily harm, mental anguish, and crazy bitches and shopped on Black Friday at 2 in the morning, paid on layaways for 3 months, and shelled out outrageous amounts for express shipping. All of this so on Christmas morning my babies' faces will light up and say "thanks Santa!" Hell, no! I want some of the glory!
Which brings me to my last reason. If I have to hear one more time that if me and Daddy won't buy it they'll just ask Santa, I will fucking scream. They have a lot of wants, I get that, they're kids. But the sooner they learn there are limits the better off their lives will be. Our thing has always been to try our damnedest to get the one thing they reeeeeaaaaalllly want and then some little things to fill out underneath the tree. But this year, everything is a big thing! And big doesn't mean size, I'm talking money wise. Joshua has asked for a few Lego sets that are close to $100 each. Um, no. There are enough Legos in our basement he could probably build an exact replica of the whole house! Natalie has discovered American Girl dolls and I am not even going to go there. The doll itself is $110 and the outfits and accessories are $30 and up. I refuse to spend more on doll clothes than I spend on her clothes. Also, my child the hoarder would lose the doll and all the parts to go with it within a week and that would make my head explode. Maybe when they're older and they can understand that the more expensive the item, the less items under the tree this won't be an issue. But for now we make sure they have an equal number of presents for them to unwrap so there is no bloodshed on the tree skirt.
I don't remember when I realized Santa wasn't a real person. I don't think I asked, more than likely it just passed on by like no big deal. I usually make a bigger deal out of stuff than the kids do anyway. I guess it won't hurt to let one more Christmas season go by and let them believe in Santa Claus. I'll have plenty of years for the glory later.
No comments:
Post a Comment