Thank You, Polar Express

Ben is always full of questions. How do things work, why is something a certain way, why did I wear that today. Lately, as you can imagine, many of his questions have been centered on the Big Day featuring the Big Man. Yes, Ben is full of questions about Santa and all things Santa related. It's clearly weighing on his mind if we can start a conversation on the way to school and then pick up right where we left off when I pick him up at noon.

He wants to know where the elves live, what they do when they're not making toys, and where Santa lives. Also, Santa is pretty old looking according to Ben, so he's probably going to die soon (Ben is a bit of a realist - no problem with the idea of where dinner comes from). Who will deliver the toys then? Next, can Santa see everything? If Santa knows everything, why do you have to say what you want for Christmas out loud? If you put your hand over your mouth, does he know you're smiling? See, lots of questions.

I've gone with the approach that Santa, and Christmas, are magic things. They don't necessarily have an explanation. Santa is able to do these things because people believe in him and in the magic of Christmas.

Cue The Polar Express. First introduced to Ben thanks to Auntie C, the book tells the story of a boy who isn't sure about Christmas anymore. Should he believe or not? The movie expanded on the theme in a beautiful way, with lots of detail and wonderful imagery. Ben saw where the elves live and work and how they fill the big bag of presents. Just the kind of concrete items Ben needed to confirm the magic. The magic of Christmas, at least for a little while longer, is safe.

Of course Ben being Ben, he announced that evening that we now know two people who are magic. There's Santa. Then there's that guy at the bank who made a quarter mysteriously appear from behind Ben's ear. He was definitely magic.