The story of Christmas

Tonight my daughter hit Husband and I with the big whammy. We were all sitting around talking about this new show we watch on Netflix. One of those Disney Channel or Nickelodeon masterpieces with the really bad child actors. You know the ones? Well this one is about a nanny in NY named Jessie. The theme song is running through my head as I type at this very moment.
Anyway. One particular episode was all about Christmas, and keeping with the theme of the season my daughter watched this one about five-gillion times. Ok, so it was only three times, but when you've seen it once, you've seen it enough. As with all television shows these days, if it involves Christmas it involves the Big Guy.  While I wish I was referring to God, our Father, you and I both know I'm talking about Santa. Good 'ole St. Nick himself. Which is apparently what my daughter thinks Christmas is all about. Kind of devastating on mine and Husband's part considering we do not actively encourage belief in Santa Claus. However, we don't discourage it because we still have not decided if we're going to go through the "Santa" tradition. It was part of my upbringing, but not Husband's, so we're kind of torn.

Here we are listening to her talk about this episode about the little kid learning about Santa, and how she wants to sit on his lap and tell him all about what she wants for Christmas. (That is a story for a Whole Other Post) We shared a look and then I asked our darling Monster, "Honey, do you know what Christmas is REALLY all about?" and she looked at me and immediately replied "Yeah Mommy, it's about Santa visiting all the girls and boys and bringing them presents if they've been good and nothing if they've been bad."

A true Face-Palm moment folks. Husband and I just stared at each other open mouthed, both thinking the same thing. "How have we failed to tell our children the story of Christmas??? What kind of church attending heathens are we?"
So we hunkered down for the story of the birth of Jesus. We got out the storybook Bible that my in-laws bought her 3 years ago, ashamed that this was probably only the second or third time it had been read to my girls. Monster looked at it and said "This isn't a story about Christmas, this is a story about God and Jesus." (Yes ladies and gents, we have failed THAT bad. I could not fake this kind of failure if I tried.) I read the story of Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus in the manger, all laid out in child like terms. We talked about who Jesus is, and why He was born.

Then my Monster laid it on thick. She started asking the loaded questions.

"Where is God?"
"Can I see Him?"
"Why can't I go to Heaven with God and Jesus?"
"How does God see everything?"
"Why did God die? (meaning Jesus)?"
"So is Santa God too, because he sees everything?"
"Where is Heaven? Can we see Heaven?"
"How do we go there (Heaven)?"

I was baffled, floored, shocked, and very Very VERY confused. I did not know how to answer all of these questions. Sure I know the basics, and while I KNOW the answers, I did not know how to make sure my FOUR YEAR OLD would know and understand them.
My child is too smart for us, and I swear she asked these questions knowing she was going to stump Husband and me.
I can at least say that now my girls have been told that Christmas is truly about Jesus being born, and that we celebrate by giving each other presents because we can't give Him the presents. That we show each other our love for, well, each other, and Jesus, through our gifts.
Unfortunately, with all the intensity we still have not figured out how to tell them Santa isn't real. Or if we should tell them, given their current level of belief.

Friends, parenting sure is hard sometimes.