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Most folks seem to think that kids are growing up too fast these days what with the use of modern technology. It seems that toys have gotten so advanced that children don’t have to use their imaginations much. A click of a button can cause something to move, appear on a screen or evolve into a totally different object.
I’ve read articles about the damage this is doing to our children’s future ability to invent and create since they’ll have no ability to see things in their heads. But I learned last Christmas when I was in San Antonio at my daughter’s house that technology isn’t all bad when we pulled out the computer and logged on to Santa tracker.com to keep up with St. Nick’s night around the world.
I had no idea this journey was available for boys and girls to watch, but Hunter’s daddy knows all about computers so he knew just where to go to find it. Earlier in the evening we’d been at my house in Orange having Christmas with my mom, so we didn’t arrive back in San Antonio till quite late. We old people were tired, but Hunter was very excited, of course. His daddy told him we could track Santa for a little while before going to bed. But before logging on, we ate some cookies that we’d brought home from Orange, then gathered around the computer to see where jolly old St. Nicholas was. I had no idea if he was in China, Australia, Brazil, Alaska, Scotland or Israel (Well, I kind of suspected he probably wasn’t in Israel – but you never know) but would you believe when the computer came on he was in Atlanta and headed our way?! “WOW, Hunter!,” I said. “That’s closer than I thought he’d be.” We all just stared at the screen for some time until we realized he was in Birmingham. Yep! He was definitely headed our way! To help pass some time, we all got up and ate a few more cookies. By the time we got back to the computer, Santa had veered sharply south and he was hovering over Baton Rouge. Hunter was getting so excited by now he was beginning to jump from couch to chair to floor to couch and floor with an occasional ceiling thrown in for good measure.
His mom and I were watching the computer while he and daddy were jumping and finally we got to tell him, “Hunter, Santa is in Beaumont now.” Well, this was almost more than he could handle. He may have been only 6 but he knew he went through Beaumont on the way to my house so it was becoming all too real to him now.
All of a sudden he got very serious and very busy. He ran to the kitchen and began preparing the plate of cookies he wanted to leave out for Santa. He took the ENTIRE plate we’d brought back from Orange and placed it in the dead center of the table. His daddy tried to tell him Santa was too fat and only needed one or two, but Hunter insisted he needed the whole plate.
As much as I was enjoying the fun, it was past midnight and I was exhausted and I wanted to go to bed so bad but Hunter was simply too excited. Finally, we saw Santa enter Houston airspace and Ricky said, “Santa’s in Houston! That’s not far, Hunter – you and MawMaw better go to bed!” (Hunter’s other grandmother was in the guest room so I was having to sleep with him.) I took him by the hand and up the stairs we went as he called out over his shoulder, “I forgot to pour Santa’s milk, Daddy!”
But his daddy assured him he’d take care of it so we continued on up to bed.
I was so tired I dozed off as soon as my head hit the pillow but within three minutes of my dozing I felt a gentle stirring beside me and a little voice whispered, “I have to go see where he is now!” Before I could come to myself enough to stop him, he was out of the bed, up the hall and down the stairs.
What followed next brought me out of my foggy slumber. I heard the shrillest little shriek you could ever imagine followed by, “SANTA’S IN SAN ANTONIO!!” SANTA’S IN SAN ANTONIO!!” I then heard his dad say “You better get in bed, boy” followed by the flurry of little footsteps up 15 steep stairs. I knew what was coming so I already had the covers pulled back and that child slid into bed as smooth and quick as any jet plane on an aircraft carrier.
“Santa’s in San Antonio! Santa’s in San Antonio!” he breathlessly informed me as fast as he could.
“You better go to sleep,” I admonished him, to which he started making exaggerated snoring noises.
I stroked his hair a few times, told him I loved him and he’d had such a busy, long day – it wasn’t long before the “play snores” became real ones.
And the computer had been right – Santa HAD been in San Antonio that night. There was a bright new bicycle under the tree the next morning, along with cars, trucks, transformers and all kinds of things that a little boy needs.
[Donnarie Campbell lives in Orange County and can be e-mailed at DEECEE955@aol.com]