Yes Virginia There really is a Santa Clause!

Music: Peanuts "Charlie Brown Christmas" and other Christmas songs

Every year around this time I get that tickle in my heart. It's hard to really explain that magical feeling that transforms my mind into that of a five year old child. I get giddy and happy and EXCITED!! I feel a sense of hope for not only myself but for the world around me. Christmas! I get the Christmas Spirit! It's almost that same feeling you get when your in love. For that moment in time nothing really matters. You have not a care in the world, a free spirit emerges and the ability to fly becomes a possiblity. Santa Clause is a god like figure when you are a child. You believe deep down in your heart that he really is watching you and that if you don't stay in his good graces then you will awaken to a stocking filled with coal. But if you are a good little girl or boy your living room can magically become Toys R Us overnight. Although I may have not had the best childhood ever, my parents still made Christmas the most memorable time in my life. Growing up in a house full of children made it even more spectacular. We would wake up at the crack of dawn and wake our parents. My Dad would always guard the entrance to the living room so we couldn't get a sneak preview of the gifts before they were ready to start the morning. My parents would sit on the couch with their coffee while we crazily tore open our gifts. It was so much fun and I always felt loved on those beautiful Christmas mornings. Now that I am older things have changed within our usual family structure. Old traditions will be broken this year. We no longer communicate with my Aunt, Uncle, or cousins because of ridiculous circumstances. Strong personalities are butting heads and their is nothing I can do to change that. My Grandmother is in a nursing home and has dimentia and cannot familarize herself with us any longer. Last year she remembered us all and couldn't wait for us to open our gifts from her. It's amazing what one whole year can do. This year will be different but my sense of Christmas spirit will still stay in tact. I believed in Santa Clause until I was eleven years old. My parents snicker when I bring it up but I've come to believe that this shows just how big I can dream. I can say that I pretty much knew he wasn't real when I was eight but I held on to the belief that he really existed. My dreams were shattered when my Mom and Dad's big secret was revealed but it never really changed anything for me. Because, you see, I held on to that hope, that magic, that Santa was really out there somewhere. Well, he really does exist. He lives deep down in my heart and he will be there for a long time to come.