We already paid a visit to our local mall Santa, but we’re going back today for a very special reason.
It’s the feast day of St. Nicholas.
If you weren’t raised Catholic that probably doesn’t mean much to you, but I happened to be raised Catholic & I also happen to have a son who came to us out of foster care sharing a name with this saint, the patron saint of children (and sailors). I find it very touching that Nicholas’ birth mother chose this name. I don’t know if she meant to name him after the saint or not, but she was in a terrible position, living in a homeless shelter, suffering from a disorder, and unable to care for her baby. There is not a more appropriate name she could have chosen. It’s like her prayer for God to watch over him as he sails through life (and from one family to another) will stay with him throughout his entire life. It was the perfect name for him.
So today we’ll be taking a special lunch break to go to the mall & visit Santa (and maybe I have a secret hidden agenda for also getting a peppermint milkshake from Chick Fil A).
We read a children’s story about how St. Nicholas became Santa, like this one, and in a little while, we will go back to visit the mall Santa. We also spent a great deal of the weekend going through our old toys and taking the kids to donate them at Goodwill and talking about how it’s important to give to other people, just like Santa Claus does.
Who knows if it’s getting into their 3 and 1-year-old heads, but it can’t hurt to try.
Although Abby seems to have a different opinion about Santa these days…
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