I think it was way back in October when WuYi first asked me about Santa Claus. She had seen images of the jolly elf when she lived in China (so did Don and I ~ he was randomly featured taped up in store windows, sun faded,very out of season, and usually next to Darth Vader or Barack Obama) but she had no idea his purpose or true identity. I was poorly prepared for the conversation ~ I figured I had at least another month before Santa would enter general conversation ~ but I did my best to wing it. I explained that Santa was a very nice fellow in a fancy red suit, who once a year visited homes of children and left them presents. That time of year was Christmas. She had known a bit about Christmas for several months, as we have a year-round Christmas store in downtown Coeur d'Alene which features trees decorated in every imaginable theme. Wu Yi loves to go inside and admire the tree decorated in pink with ballet slippers, tutus, and tiaras. Anyway, before I could explain much more, she interupted me and demanded to know if he was REAL. Yikes! After a moment I knew that I had no choice but to tell her the truth. I have done my best for almost a year to form a trusting relationship with her and its just not worth risking. Besides, Santa is supposed to bring presents to all the children of the world, and WuYi was never included in that story. She enjoyed the Christmas conversation immensely (especially knowing we would decorate a tree, bake cookies, and get presents) and I had to caution her not to tell other kids that Santa wasn't legit. She was pretty confused about why parents would lie to their kids about such a thing. The best I could offer her by way of explanation was to say "because its fun". As she bounced off my bed, satisfied with her understanding of things, I quickly realized that I had a big problem. My 9 year old son, Evan, is still a believer. (What have I done???!!!)
Cute pictures! I can't wait to see the rest of the story.
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