[perth]

So something interesting happened to me last night.

I've looked back through my comments in this thread, and I know the following will come off as hypocrisy, because it probably IS.

I took Jamey to the mall to find a nice outfit for his Christmas pictures. We happened to pass by Santa's little outpost, and Jamey went *nuts* over seeing Santa. I had never seen him that thrilled about anything, and what made it stranger is that I've made a point of not making "Santa" a big thing. He asked if he could tell Santa what he wanted, and I found I just didn't have it in me to say no. But more than that, I was excited at the chance to get pictures of him with Santa.

We got in the (mercifully short) line and when his turn arrived, he practically bolted to the guy in the suit, hopped up and started telling him what a good boy he was. He grinned from ear-to-ear for the picture, and talked about it for the rest of the evening.

So I really don't know how I feel about it anymore. I think a lot of factors are involved here, but I just don't find myself inclined to actively discourage belief in Santa anymore. That's not to say I'm going to encourage it, and when he asks me, I'm going to be honest about it. But the pure joy I saw in his face last night taught me something important. Sometimes what's called for is a little less "dad" and a little more "friend".