Well, we did get to enjoy a second "camp"fire over the weekend. Again on Saturday, after the younger ones were bathed and in bed, John and I and the oldest few sat out under the stars and listened to the logs crackle. Slowly, after a couple marshmallows, one by one they'd wander in to bed for the night. Emma stayed up the latest, and conversation dipped from school, to sports, and eventually to Santa, the toothfairy and Easter bunny. She shared that kids had been talking about them lately again at school. Emma's friend was apparently given strict instructions by her mom not to tell the secret to anyone, but "that none of it's real." (so much for the secret.) It's a hard thing to leave them hanging like that. John and I didn't add anything to the conversation, just listened to her toss ideas around, as she thought out-loud and shared what she might still believe. For now she was certain Santa is still real. (I loved her reasoning) "Because you and Dad could never afford all those nice gifts." But she's pretty certain Easter bunny and toothfairy are make-believe. We kinda just let her hangin'. As much as I'd love to tell her the truth, and have her share in the secret, I'm not ready for the trickle-down effect as the secret would "slip" to the little ones.
Rather, we just toasted another marshmallow, pulled our chairs a little closer to the fire, as conversation drifted on...
