Where did Santa go?

Here is a "Special Edition" blog that you might want to share with your children.

As I thought about it today...I realized that many of the traits that we attribute to Santa disappeared around the same time we realized that the economy was in collapse...October 2009.

Good Morning!

A little over a year ago...the Santa that we all knew and loved disappeared!

Where did that Santa go?

Let me explain...where I think that he went...

You probably heard that in October 2009 there was a significant economic event that affected the entire world. 

It actually did not happen on a specific day (or even during that month), but October 2009 was when we realized how bad it had gotten.

It was called an economic collapse or crash...

The economic crash of October 2009 was actually when we realized that...
...We were living on too much credit and...
...We had an unrealistic hope that future values of everything we owned was going to go up. 

The funny thing about it...in October 1929 someting very similar happened!  You would think that we would learn! 

It was a bad month!

Many people lost their jobs in that month and the months after that.  Chances are that someone in your family or at least, someone you know, has lost their job in the past year and can not find another one.

This time is especially sad for them...the holidays are not going to be as good as they were in the past...

Santa is not visiting many of those families...

In fact, because of October 2009, the Santa of the 1990's has all but disappeared...

Or at least what we thought that he stood for...

Yes...he disappeared October 2009!

That is...if the adults have learned their lesson about credit!

You can no longer expect to get gifts because you promise to be good and keep your rooms clean and get your homework done and be nice to your brothers and sisters...

What many adults learned in October 2009 was that the value of promises went away when we realized that we can not count on them...

It is when adults finally realized that people have lost their honesty!

This is one of the things that made Santa disappear...

What happened last October was all of our fault.

One of the reasons it happened...was that we wanted you to have everything we never had...and then you learned to expect that... 

Another one of the reasons was that...we were so caught up working and making money...that we felt guilty for not being there when we needed to...so we gave you everything that you wanted...to try to make up for not being there...

Another reason was that...we forgot to teach you some of the important lessons that we learned when we were young...and that was because we were so busy with our jobs and careers and aspirations...

Things are different now...

In the olden days...Santa only gave presents to people who earned it...or deserved it...remember the phrase "...good little boys and girls?"

But we made the mistake of allowing you to think that you deserved anything you wanted...no matter what you did or didn't do...

We were letting you live on credit...just like we were doing...that is a bad lesson to learn...

Think about it...when you played soccer or baseball or did anything...EVERYONE got a trophy...that was wrong!

Trophies are supposed to be earned.  If you do not work...why do you think you should get someting for it?  Because we taught you that...

Over time you started believing that you deserved everything and that we were bad parents for not getting whatever you wanted...that is wrong too! 

We should have been giving you important life lessons instead...
When you believed in Santa...you were living in the world of credit...just like we were doing... 

You got toys and gifts because you were cute and that we had many hopes and dreams for you...we believed in you...and your future...

Then you found out that Santa was just a story...

That was when you grew up and reality should have been put into place...and we should have started giving you the real life lessons...

Just like October 2009 did to us...

It was October 2009 when many of us grew up!

I do not know why...but when you stopped believing in Santa...we kept treating you like children

We didn't allow you to see what the real world is like...

The funny thing is that many adults are acting like kids...

They are asking the government to help them pull out of their problems...and make the bad things go away!

PLEASE MAKE THE MONSTERS GO AWAY!  BAIL US OUT!

This is a good time to teach everyone that you get what you want...by FIRST giving others what they want from you...NO CREDIT...STRAIGHT CASH...

We need to teach you that when you eat...you should not make a bigger mess and extra work for us to clean-up after you...

We need to teach you that your room needs to be really clean...
We need to teach you that homework is NOT about completing an assignment...but about learning...that handing in a piece of paper is not the real goal, but learning how to do it, without errors is more important...

We need to teach you that where ever you go or whenever you do something...you leave the place better for your having been there...

We need to teach you that you need to work first and play your video games second...

We need to teach you that about how important honesty is...

and that is just the beginning...of the lessons we should have taught you...but I think that we need to learn a few new ones too!

We are sorry...

Santa is gone...

But the neat thing about Santa is that we can bring him back to life...

We can't live on credit any longer...

Before you ask for your gifts this holiday season...ask yourself what have I done to earn them?

How many times has mom or dad had to pick up after you...or ask you to clean your room...or made you a meal...or bought you something already?

How many times did what you do cause a lot more work for your parents...

What did you do to get what you think you deserve to get?

Step up and be a real part of the family...rather than a burden!

Santa is gone!

It is up to us to bring him back!