Page 7 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2022

started filling up with children who had already visited with me. I
thought maybe they saw I still had more candy canes or forgot a
request the first time. But when I asked the first little girl if she
wanted another piece of candy, she shook her head.
“Nope. I just came to climb on your lap and get a hug like
Kevin did.”
And that was true of all of them, though a few accepted a
second treat. But what they really wanted was a hug. When they all
had gotten their hug, some of them more than one, I shared the left-
over candy canes with the parents.
When I had finished and went to change back to the normal
me, I thought about what had just happened. Sometimes children ask
me if Santa is real. I thought, “Oh, he’s real, all right. And he’s part
of all of us, whether it is when we need a hug or have an extra one to
share.”
I also thought of what we have lost through this last year.
The children yearned for love, a hug, and a feeling of approval. I was
Covid free, so I could feel comfortable being close to the children.
But some people asked if I wasn’t afraid of catching Covid by
playing Santa. I answered that I wasn’t scared of getting it. Yes, I
know I could lose my life. But what I am really afraid of is losing
something more important: humanity, charity, and compassion.
This last year, we have seen an increase in anger, hatred,
prejudice, and mistrust. Some have promoted it for their own gain to
the detriment of others. The youngest members of our society are the
most sensitive, and I feel it affects them the most, especially when
the normalcy we so desperately seek seems so far away.
The children there touched my heart and made me consider
what is most important. The experience made me commit to looking
more for good in others, lift someone who could use a kind word,
and try to make someone else’s life a little better.

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