10 years ago

Once upon a time, on a New Years Eve, a man and a woman met.

It was December 31, 2001. The man drove from Bloomington to his high school friend's house in West Lafayette. The woman drove from the Chicago suburbs to her friend's house in - yep, West Lafayette. It was dark, there was a time change, she missed a turn and so was frazzled and late when she arrived.

Spaghetti was already on the table, but the group was welcoming. There was the friend and the couple... and the man and the woman. Who talked and talked and talked late into the night.

And then emails were exchanged. The rest, as they say, is history. A short 15 1/2 months after meeting, we got married.

So Happy Anniversary to my love on this, our 10th anniversary of meeting.

End of a journey

When Wil was 9 months old, Chris went back to school. He had found a Masters program he was interested in.

Now, 4 1/2 years later, he will graduate tomorrow.

While still in the same department, Telecom, he changed concentrations along the way, finding something (3D video production) even more interesting. Even better, it fits with what he does at work. And has opened opportunities. He enjoys working with 3D and he'll get to teach it this spring.

This isn't a very long blog post, but I wanted to say, "Congratulations. We're proud of you."

The real Santa

Our boys believe in Santa. And I'm glad.

Some people think it's awful to teach children about Santa because it is lying to them.

I disagree. Because Santa is real.

Is he a strange man in a red suit who lives at the North Pole, making toys with elves, flying around the world on Christmas Eve with a sleigh full of toys? Well, I'll leave that to you to decide.

Is Santa an idea? Absolutely. He's a marvelous idea. He's something in all of us. If you haven't read the famous response to the simple question "Is there a Santa Claus?" from The Sun, take a moment to do so.

We're teaching our boys to believe in Santa Claus... but we're also trying to teach them how to be Santa. And that's the important thing to me.

A few weeks ago, we bought some shower gel and a pouf as part of "Be a Santa to a Senior". And we bought a cute outfit for a little girl as part of our neighborhood sponsoring a family. Sam in particular had a really fun time picking the clothes (a sparkly lavender sweater, long sleeve t-shirt to go under, cords, and matching socks). They helped pick a toy for each of 2 kids for another angel tree program through Chris's work.

Beyond helping people they don't know, which helps teach them compassion and kindness, and caring for everyone, they like picking presents for people they do know. Wil picked the color yarn for the scarf I knit his teacher. They came up with ideas for a gift for Daddy (Chris). When I shop for our niece and nephew and a few other kids in the family, they will help me pick presents.

So what will we tell them when they eventually ask? We'll tell them the truth. And the truth isn't that adults lie, but that sometimes we pretend. And that Santa is real, just not what they thought. And then we'll let them in on the fun of being Santa and knowing it.

So is there a Santa? I think so. Absolutely. We're all Santa. If you read it in The Sun, it's true.