Today I took the girls to see Santa Claus at the mall. In the past, they have had a Polar Express setup as well as a Narnia village, but this year Santa is located in the middle of a winter wonderland complete with enormous snowglobes to walk through, lifesize polar bear statues, an "ice thrown", and very cool videos from BBC Earth about Arctic wildlife. It really is pretty great, except for the styrofoam snow that sticks like a magnet to clothing and hair. We spent the next two hours at the mall walking around with foam pellets in our hair that looked like giant flakes of dandruff. Oh well, it was a small price to pay for the best visit to Santa ever!
When the girls walked up to Santa, they gave him big hugs and he was fantastic, acting like he remembered them, even calling them by name, which I'm sure he heard me say many times as we walked through the snowglobes and experienced the MacArthur Center winter wonderland. Anyway, as I eavesdropped on their conversation with Santa while I paid for their pictures, I heard them say that they wanted the Looks Like Me American Girl dolls for Christmas. Then my jaw hit the ground. Santa let out a jolly chuckle and said playfully, "Didn't I bring you American Girl dolls last year? The ones that are not even made anymore? Are you sure you want more dolls?" The looks on the girls' faces were pure joy and astonishment because that was one hundred percent correct! With them being five and seven years old now, I know the years of wonder and innocence are quickly flying by. This visit may have bought another year or two of magic for these kids, which I am very grateful for. And there is no other way to explain that moment today expect to say that it was truly magical. If I didn't know better, I would say that this guy is the real deal, the head elf, Saint Nicholas himself. But that's impossible...isn't it?
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