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It was 11 p.m. and Husband pushed the gazillionth mini-marshmallow into the frosting on the side of the mammoth butterfly cake. He was smiling. Finally.
Two hours earlier I had pushed two sheet cakes towards him and said, “We need to turn these into a butterfly cake for Sophie’s party tomorrow.”
He was exhausted after a long day with the kids. I was exhausted. But the butterfly party was the next day, at our house, and I had committed to a butterfly cake. Husband’s an artist. He can do it!
Tags: how to throw a child's party at home, kids birthday parties, turning four
Last Sunday, we had a special guest at our small country church: One of the bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
“Oh, that’s right, the Bishop’s visiting today,” I said as the children and I entered the church.
Son wasn’t quite clear what this meant but insisted we sit in the front row. The Bishop processed in all decked out in a grand purple robe and miter (that’s the funky hat with a point at the top and two tails down the back). He was also carrying a tall, wooden shepherd’s staff.
Tags: bishop, children at holidays, Christmas, church, holidays, lessons, motherhood, sermon, shepherds
As some of you know, Husband (who’s Jewish) and I (an Episcopalian) are raising Son and Daughter in both faiths. We celebrate all the holidays at home and in church or temple, light candles and sing prayers Friday evenings, and attend church on Sundays (where our kids will attend Sunday school as they get older is still an open question).
When I picked up Son from preschool Lunch Bunch, he pulled me aside and excitedly said,
“Mom, guess what happened today?”
“What?” I asked.
“Well, we were eating lunch and Miss Jill was getting coffee and we heard bells. And Miss Sherry said, ‘Listen, what’s that?’ And she said, “It’s Santa watching us.”
He had a huge smile on his face and felt very, very special that Santa had paid a special preschool drive by of his school.
I was touched and moved by his joy and pure belief in the event. And it sealed for me the power of believing in Santa Claus for young children.
I have to admit it’s felt awkward for me to summon lies each Christmas in telling the tale of Santa Claus. It goes against my year long effort of gentle explanations and truth telling to my kids. My experience is just a trickle down of a larger trend in our society. Businesses strive for transparency and reality television has created a way “too much information” culture.
It’s a far cry from my parents’ generation when less was more when it came to filling in the kids on most things. “We’ll see” was the common response to many requests and you didn’t get an explanation.
So, hearing Son’s ready, sweet willingness to believe such an obvious Santa ruse sealed my belief as well. My belief in children’s ability and need for the story with a good hero. For a story of magic and mystery.
Kind of like that other Christmas story. You know - the one about the baby who comes to save the world. And while my kids seem pretty moved by the events that night in Bethlehem and three kings who brought gifts, they kinda like the guy who brings them gifts. And, I’m all for it.