No, Virginia, Don't Believe Your Mother

More years back than I'd like to admit, I was working at a medical office in San Francisco. All the people there were very nice and treated me well. Christmas time was always nice with parties, bonuses, and gift giving. One day during this festive season I got into a conversation with one of my co-workers who had children. I asked her if her kids were getting excited about the always much anticipated visit from Santa on Christmas Eve. She told me something that still haunts me to this day in a sad kind of way. And of course more at this time of year than any other. She said her children were informed at a very early age that there was no Santa Claus and their parents were the benefactors of any bounty found beneath the tree. They were to know that Mom and Dad worked and paid for everything. Now for a few seconds I thought that wasn't so bad but then something else set in. It was a feeling of sadness for those children. Since they were not mine I kept my thoughts to myself. I couldn't help feeling however and still do that those young lives were deprived of something very precious. Something that is in woeful short supply in this world but fortunately in a small dose can last a lifetime. Something called magic.