Really Knowing Santa

Christmas is a warm, magical time of the year, and if you are seven years old, even better.  As a child you wait all year long for the jolly old man to bring gifts and toys, hoping to get what you asked for in your letter to Santa.  Christmas of years past was simple because of the times I lived in, but there was always love, family, and good food.  There were aunts and uncles and cousins, too, making the holidays even more special.  We always found a way to have a real Christmas tree decorated with  tinsel and lights and candy canes.  I loved looking at the tree at night and watching the lights twinkle until I fell asleep.  The closer it got to Christmas the harder it was for me to fall asleep.  Christmas was usually spent at home, getting up and running to the tree to see what Santa had left, but this year mom said we were going to my grandparents house for Christmas.  They lived about two hundred miles from us out in the country, and even though I dearly loved them, I could feel instant panic  as my heart beat faster. The first words out of my mouth were, "how will Santa know where we are for my toys?"  Mom assured me that Santa always knew where to find us at Christmas.  Much to my protesting, it was off to the country for Christmas with my grandparents. The drive wasn't so bad and by the time we go closer to their house, I could smell the pine trees and the cleaner air of the country.  They lived on sixty acres, pretty much by themselves  and with no street lights it was really dark. Sometimes we could hear the wolves up in the hills and even an owl or two.  Grandpa and Grandma had chopped down a tree and decorated it with strings of popcorn and other various items like candy canes and lights.  Everything was hand made or grown on their land.  I was glad to see them and the real scents of Christmas made things better once we got settled for our visit.  Later that evening Grandma announced that the church was having a special service and Santa was ."going to be there, too.  My eyes and ears perked up and I smiled with joy.  After the church service everyone went into a large meeting room  where all of the kids waited for Santa to arrive with his bag of goodies.  Soon, Santa arrives shouting ho ho ho and waving to everyone.  All of us kids laughed  with excitement, and my mother looked at me and said," I told you Santa would know where you are."  S"anta started to make his rounds, passing out candy to each child.  Soon it was my turn and when he gave me the candy, he looked at me with those bright blue eyes that twinkled, and said," I know you have been good and your present will be under the tree when you wake in the morning"  HIs eyes sparkled like diamonds as he gave me a big smile. At that very moment, there was something so special about Santa, not just the fact that he was Santa, but I KNEW HIM. How could that be, as no one ever really knows Santa.  I told my mother that Santa was really Grandpa, really. I know his eyes and they twinkle just like Santa's. She smiled and told me to be quiet, but I felt like I had discovered a really big secret, one that was all mine.  As I got older, the real meaning of Christmas came to be dear to my heart, with the story of Jesus, giving to others, family, but most of all I'll never forget the night I REALLY FOUND SANTA.  I know that love is the spirit of Christmas, and I saw it in my Grandpas' eyes.  Yes, I believe in Santa, even at my age.  This is the spirit we should all carry with us each and every day.