December 21, 2023
Dear Santa,
In this letter, mere days before Christmas, I come to you with a heart heavy with regret and a Christmas wish for redemption.
A few years back, amidst a bitter divorce and the suffocating grip of COVID-19, I found myself financially drained, emotionally battered, and locked down with my two precious children. In a moment of vulnerability, my daughter Madeline, with her big, trusting, kind eyes, asked, “Mommy, is the Easter Bunny real?” Her sweet, innocent voice, full of excitement for the upcoming holiday and trust in me, echoes in my mind.
Santa, in that instant, my world shattered. My knee-jerk reaction, born of years of being lied to and let down, was, “I don’t want to lie to you, Maddie. No, the Easter Bunny is not real.” It was a pivotal moment. Her chin quivered, her eyes welled up with tears, and her innocent belief in the world’s magic crumbled before my eyes.
I have always vowed never to lie to my children, to protect them from the pain of deceit that chipped away at my faith in people. But I failed to realize that in my attempt to shield her, I inadvertently stole a piece of her childhood wonder, her imagination, and her faith in something greater than ourselves.
Santa, I’ve come to understand that my response wasn’t just about the Easter Bunny. It reflected my own lost faith—in people, in goodness, in the world. I’ve been broken, bit by bit, by broken promises and shattered trust. But I was wrong, Santa, so unbelievably, unequivocally wrong.
The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and you, Santa—you embody faith, belief in kindness, generosity, and the innate goodness that does exist in this world.
Clayton, her older brother, witnessed this. What I took from Madeline wasn’t just her belief in a fantasy; it was her first step into a faith that, when sustained, can produce miracles. A faith that is real, powerful, and magical.
Santa, I need your help. My wish this Christmas is to restore Maddie’s belief in the Easter Bunny and to rekindle faith and optimism in both of my children. I want to show them that magic exists, that goodness and kindness are real, and that they are more powerful than any disappointment or deceit.
I want to teach them and relearn for myself that if we believe and truly have faith, we can feel and see the beauty and magic in our world. Santa, I need her to know that I was wrong—that you, Santa, are real in the most profound sense.
You represent the faith we need to restore in ourselves, in each other, and in humanity. The faith that is vital for our future is for the existence of all that is good and magical—the Easter Bunny, God in all forms, and the magic within us.
Please, Santa, help us find our way back to that magic, to the faith that once shaped and guided me to the miracles in my life, such as my beautiful children. This faith defined me and should define us all.
With hope and a newfound belief, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
DubG, aka Mom
