"Daddy, look here. See? That's you carving a pumpkin. Photographic evidence that proves you've been lying to me."
And thus began a tough Sunday morning - a few weeks back - of anger, denial, acceptance and hope revolving around the true existence - or not - of Sweetie's annual Halloween visitor, the Magic Pumpkin.
I don't even know what the end result of the conversation was. Did we claim possession by the Magic Pumpkin such that Daddy didn't even know he was commanded to carve? Yup. Did we ultimately admit to working behind the scenes? Sadly, yes. Did we discuss the difference between lying to vs. creating wonder, joy and magic? Of course! Was Sweetie angry, sad, and mad at us? You bet she was. Did Sweetie then suggest the only way to see if there really are Magic Pumpkins is to try again this year and see what happens when Daddy doesn't do the carving himself? Yes. Yes she did. Did any of our morning discussion dissuade Sweetie from still firmly holding on to her belief that Santa, the Easter Bunny and all other mysteriously magical beings do absolutely exist? Not in the least. Houston, we (still) have a believer.
Ultimately, I think Sweetie was mostly upset with us about lying to her, and made it her goal to just forget this conversation ever took place at all - choosing instead to wait and see what will happen this year with her pumpkin when he (she? it?) works without any help from Daddy.
But, yeah. We feel like we lost a little bit of Sweetie that morning. A little more innocence - however forced upon us - chipped away from Sweetie's core. Fact - Daddy has been her Magic Pumpkin all along. Poor Sweetie.
But ya gotta love how, in Sweetie's mind, there's still a chance of real magic if we just give it a chance. Amen, Sista! You got that right!
I do absolutely love this about Sweetie. Her undying belief in all things magical, fantastical and good. But I wonder, at the same time, how much her peers still believe. Certainly those with older siblings are that much more likely to know the truth of it all. That much more likely to understand that their parents have been playing the role of Santa, Easter Bunny and the rest all this time. And, as we approach the holiday season, won't they all be talking about what really goes on in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve?
Probably. And Sweetie will have to sort it all out for herself. I imagine she'll be one of the very last hold outs, vehemently standing her "magic does exist!" ground.
Especially since we found a way to reinforce mysterious happenings once again. Hah!
Here's how it went down...
Brought our pumpkin home yesterday, Sweetie left it with a note at bedtime last night. Alas, the pumpkin was still un-carved as of this morning, with a little note back to her saying it needed more time to think of what it wanted to be. We three left for breakfast out with friends this morning and when we came home around lunchtime - OMG! - the pumpkin was carved!!
" (Gasp) Now I KNOW it's magic! None of us were home and it carved itself! I knew it!"
Not 10 minutes later her friend from school came over, so Sweetie was able to excitedly share the magic with her.
"Whoa. That's weird."
Yup. Undeniable magic. It's alive and well here in Casa de Sweetie & Me. May it be alive with you as well.
(There are many other things I could write about. Probably should write about. But not today. Today, we'll stick with the miracle of magic pumpkins and leave it at that. Happy Halloween!)
