The questions just are not answerable today. "Why do poor kids get less toys from Santa?" "How does Santa know to come to the Christmas party, do you have to write him a letter?" "Did elf come back from the North Pole yet?" "Can I play on my iPad?" "Can we watch a movie tonight?" "Is there anything you'd like me to do?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" The truth is it comes out mean. I don't want to answer anyone about anything. I think they are trying to get me to tell them that Santa isn't real, that the elf (which they started not me) is a fantasy. And poor kids don't always get toys because nobody buys them any. I am so close to saying it, I have to just stay quiet.
Dinner comes around and after a day of avoidance, I decide to come up with something."I think we should all practice being a bit more optimistic. Optimism is something we can learn, and you kids might have a little more to learn than other kids because you are being raised by pessimists. But we can teach ourselves to think about the good side of things, and it could be useful."
The reaction is immediate from the 10 year old. "Well, don't you think if everyone in the world only looks at the good side of things that we'll lose sight of how things can be improved?"
Having put a lot of thought into this idea myself, I was ready. "That sounds like a pessimist's view of optimism." She burst into a laughter I hadn't understood she was capable of.Perhaps it's to late?
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