I love the passing of time

Yesterday at church, they did a collection for the Illinois Youth Center. It was a special collection, presented in the ‘for all ages’ portion of the service (the part that talks to the kids or, includes them specifically, anyway).

Shel & Annie went to the front to listen to the story. Then went back to dad when the collection started (I was sitting away from them - there weren’t enough seats together when we got there - and could watch them from afar). Dad gave them each a dollar.

The basket came their way and they each put their dollar in, then passed it on. But, they didn’t just put their dollar in and pass it on. They swelled with joy as they put their dollar in. It was shining out of them, this feeling of being people who help others, who work towards bringing comfort and happiness where it might not exist already. For Shelby, grinning and beaming as he passed the basket on, the feeling was so strong that he turned to dad & buried his face into dad’s chest, as he hugged him. He was just overwhelmed with knowing he was doing something good.

Good lord, I love my kids!

Annie has been writing letters to Santa over the weekend. Secret letters that she doesn’t want anyone to see. She handed me the first one on Sunday morning, asking me to not look at it, but to please send it to Santa.

I looked… I couldn’t help it. If it had something in it that would help me make the magic, the belief that there is wonder and joy in the world, stronger for her, I wanted to know. Or, if there was something in there that might leave her belief in that wonder shattered, if it didn’t happen, I wanted to know, too.

It said…

Dear Santa,
You don’t have to bring me the other stuff I askt for. That’s just a idie for you. But, I relly want a happyer and nice family please

Which, if it was coming from a kid with a troubled and mean family, would be heartbreaking… But, coming from my Annie, in a family where we are happy and nice, it’s so sweet - it’s that happy & nice that raised her to believe that wishing for happiness for everyone is better than any present, anyway.

The harder letter that she wrote, though, was one she & Shel had been planning for a few days. I don’t have it here to copy verbatim, but in it she asks Santa to please, please, please wake her when he’s at our house, so that she can see him.

They are also planning a letter to Rudolph, asking him to wake them so that they can see Santa.

I’m going to have to think about that one. It would be a cool thing to at least reply to that, if I can’t figure out a way to make them believe that he was there, trying to wake them. If I had better photoshop skillz, I’d take a pic of them sleeping on xmas eve and photoshop Santa into it, somehow.

Hmmm… I hope I come up with something that they can believe before then, anyway