"Life is too short to waste in criticism and complaint." ~ Mother Teresa.

Okay. I'm back at it, again. Today is Tuesday, December 2, 2025. We have our Church lifegroup Christmas party this morning at a local restaurant. I'm not big on the white elephant shenanigans, but, we do what we have to do. Can I get a witness? The people who come to our Santa events are typically always complimentary of the way in which we do what we do. We love children just like the song says, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world." And, we can be sure He does. Occasionally, and I might add, very rare, I have run into someone critical of Santa. But, we live in America and Texas in particular, home of the road rage, therefore, some folks come prepared to be upset if things don't turn out in their view the perfect way they anticipated. Children. They are very unpredictable when it comes to their Santa encounter. While we instill the stranger-danger concept into our kiddos, it can be trying when they don't immediately warm up to the jolly old elf. It happens. Yes. I have seen some who very clearly were terrified. Sometimes, Mrs. Claus can intervene. Not always. There are times when a child will not, no matter the circumstances, come anywhere near Santa. That's when I've been criticized. Okay? If that makes someone feel better, go for it. I had one lady tell me one time she had never had an issue until they brought him to me. Really? I was actually filling a spot for a Santa who was fired for being totally unqualified. The photos were being printed on site for $5. You are kidding. Right? Nope. I never wanted so badly to give someone $5 and tell her to take her business elsewhere. But, that's not my point. I'm talking about compliments. We get them. Lots of them. Children tell us they love us. Some hug us. The parents can't stop thanking us. They do. They really do. Last Sunday evening we did the lighting of the Christmas tree for our local Church. We did dozens of family photos for two hours mostly one right after the other. A young fellow who was a big boy, maybe eight or nine came up and when we finished with the photo he looked me right in the eyes and said this, "You are the best." That along with his genuine smile from ear to ear was worth tons to me. After all, these kids are the true experts when it comes to knowing if I'm doing my job or not, and, that is to bring joy to girls and boys of all ages. 

 

I have no idea if this image explains anything but I thought it looked cool, and, it might.

I've actually written before about the lady who complained about her $5 photo. And, that's okay, because Mrs. Claus worries about Santa because she continues to tell me how I repeat my stories over and over. She thinks that might indicate a problem. I usually tell her my stories are worth repeating over and over but that doesn't really resolve anything. I also try to use the age card but she typically operates in a no trump game. I do know this and I am unanimous in this understanding: I am not as sharp mentally in my current configuration as I was when I was sharper, at times very sharp indeed. I know that doesn't make too much sense but in this case I yield to an expert on the matter at hand, none other than Dr. Seuss himself, "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." And, "Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope." I do intend to pay more attention to what is an obvious issue with repetitiveness, but, be forewarned, I am not coming up with a lot of good new stories, therefore, I will have to dig deeper into the old ones hopefully finding some I've never used before. Good luck with that one. Y'all pray for Mrs. Claus as she has her hands full dealing with an aging, forgetful Santa-man. Until next time, may the Good Lord above take a liking to you, oh, that's right, He already does as seen in Him sending His one and only Son to die for the sins of everyone. And, that, includes us all! Amen.