Did Santa Come?

Did Santa come?  Was a question I heard over and over again.....

Years ago we brought this little boy into our home.  He was a little ragamuffin for sure.  He was wearing clothes well beyond his size and well beyond the need for cleaning.   He himself was a dirty little thing that was in need of a good hot bath.  When we met I was introduced as a friend of the case worker.  She told him that my name was Laura and I would be taking him home with me for a time.

After a quick stop at  a department store to get him some new clothing, we made the 50 minute drive home.     After a nice warm bath and some nice clean clothes, I tucked that little boy into bed.   I reminded him that my name was Laura and that my bedroom was right next to his.   I went on to explain that if he needed anything he could come in my room at anytime and get me.

The next morning my oldest two children were off to school.   It gave me time to focus on helping our new little person get settled in.   That morning when he got up he said,  "Mom, did Santa Come?"   First off I reminded him that my name was Laura.  I explained to him that Santa had  not come and that Christmas had passed.  The next morning he again got out of bed and said, "Mom, did Santa Come?"  I once again explained that he had not.  The third morning same question to which I gave the same answer. But this time...  I asked that little boy, "Why do you keep asking me if Santa came?'  This was his response, "My dad said Santa was coming"  I asked, "did you get presents at Christmas?'  He said, "No Santa never comes" he then added, "He never gives me presents"    You see it was mid January when he came to live with us.  And in talking to him I began to understand that he was waiting and hoping every night that it would be the night Santa would finally come.    Oh, my gosh!!!! Talk about trying to keep your composure and not letting him know how truly sad you were. 

I grabbed that little boys hand and lead him downstairs to the playroom.   You see I had not taken him to the playroom.  I had brought some toys up to the main living area so that I would be able to keep him near me while he adjusted to our home.  When we got into the playroom which of course was full of toys, I said, "You see Santa must have known that you were going to be here because he left all these toys right here for you to play with."  It was the best I could do at that split second with my head reeling from the realization of what he said.  You know that little boy was so excited to see that playroom and all the toys he never again asked me in the morning if Santa had come.

That little boy is now a grown man and has never stopped calling me mom from the first day on.  That little boy never went home to be with his family he stayed right here with his new family.  He never had to worry about Santa bringing him presents at Christmas time because Santa never forgot about him again.

Merry Christmas
Nebraska Prairie Girl

Comments

Popular Posts