Saturday my daughter and I went shopping. My 6 year old granddaughter, Shelby, was with us. As Diana and I were talking about our Christmas lists, Shelby asked to borrow a pen and a notebook. She worked studiously as she asked us occasionally how to spell a word. When we arrived at Walmart, we took her to the toys so she could get some Christmas ideas of what she wanted. As she walked up and down the aisles, I was the official secretary and she would look up and ask me to add certain things to her list.
Once we were done and were going around the store, she kept looking at her list and grilling me:
"Where does Santa get his mail?"
"Does he go get it himself or does Mrs. Santa get it?"
"Does he read every letter or does his wife help him or does he have a secretary?"
I answered each question as best I could.....He gets his mail from the mailbox...I guess it depends on who goes out anywhere on who picks up the mail...I believe he reads them all himself. She seemed to be thinking it over. She gently removed her list from the notebook and folded it perfectly in half and handed it to me and said....
"I don't trust the mail to get it right to him. Here, you take it to him and tell him it's from me."
I looked at her and asked, "Shelby, how am I supposed to give it to him?"
She looked at me like I had lost my mind and said,
"Duh. You live right beside him, just walk it over there."
How could I have forgotten. Santa and Mrs. Clause DO live right beside me. So I went home, knocked on the door and explained the situation. Santa gladly took the letter. Then he asked me pop back to the house and get my camera so I could show Shelby proof that yes, he DID read her list. So I did exactly that and as I took the photograph, I stood right there on Santa's front porch while he made sure he could read each word she had tenderly written and he instructed me to tell her she had been a very good girl this year and he would see what items on the list he could leave for her on Christmas eve. She was one happy little girl when I gave her a full report and showed her the picture of Santa with her list.
And yes, there is a Santa Claus and yes he does live beside me.
