Belief in Santa

  I believe in Santa.  Yes, that's right, I do.  To my defense, I've met the guy once.  No, he doesn't leave me gifts under the tree.  He leaves the Christmas Spirit.  That amazing gift of hope and peace.  Yes, I'm still talking of Santa.   I was Christmas shopping a few years ago, and out of the crowd there was this one man.  Looked like Santa to me, minus the red coat and hat.  Had this glow about him, this knowledge.  He told me that everything was going to be okay.
  Now, I suppose he could have been an angel.  He could have been a messenger of God, who looked like Santa.  When you look at the history of St Nicholas, perhaps the bishop had some of God's grace, and it was passed on?  Perhaps I had the flue and was hallucinating?  Or overtired from working two jobs.  Either way, I tell my kids Santa is real.  We read, "The Polar Express", tonight.  While I don't recommend children hopping on a train that stops in front of their house, the book ends with the child stating that as he got older, his friends and family stopped hearing the ringing of the bell, that he asked Santa for.  But he could always here it, and those that truly believed, still could.
  I don't so much believe that it is Santa he is referring, though that's a pretty magical thing for kids I think.  But I feel it's about the Christmas Spirit.  Because if you stop believing in hope, forgiveness, love and life, what is there?