Joseph and I were in the car waiting for the bus. Here is my retelling of our conversation.
Joseph: “Mom… they say that magical creatures don’t exist.”
Me: “Who says that?”
Joseph: “They do. They say that Santa, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy don’t exist. They say magical creatures aren’t real.””
Me: “Who? Your friends?”
Joseph: “Just people.”
Me: “Do you believe they exist?”
Joseph: “Yes. But my friends [ah… finally!] say that magic doesn’t exist and so magical creatures don’t exist. But I think they do.”
Me: “Remember how I’ve told you that Santa is part of the magic of Christmas?”
Joseph: “Yeah.”
Me: “Well… you could call Santa a magical creature.”
Joseph: “But my friends will say he doesn’t exist.”
Me: “Then you just tell them they can believe what they want, but you believe that Santa is part of the magic of Christmas whether he’s real or not.”
Joseph: “That works for me.”
Ah… to be 8 and questioning the magic of childhood. So sad, yet so happy at the same time. Santa will always be a part of the magic of Christmas whether or not he exists.