Believe....

In this season of thankfulness and magic, its easy to get swept up into consumerism, busyness and craziness.  Actually, if I were to be perfectly honest, its easy to get swept up into all that stuff at any time throughout the year.  And my main goal, the one constant I always come back to is how to step outside of that.  How to make a real, genuine attempt at living an intentional and grateful life.

We went on a Polar Express train ride tonight to kick off our holiday.  The kids have decided that really, the polar express train is the only real way to get to the North Pole, there is no other way to find it.  When we got to the train depot, and the kids were trying to figure out how this was going to happen, our four year old was elated.  She couldn't wait to get onto the train, find our seat and head out to unknown lands.  But honestly, that's pretty much who she is.  Our nearly seven year old, however, was a bit more leery.   He's trying hard to still believe in Santa and puts on a pretty great show for his little sister, but he's a thinker, and I can see in the back of his mind the gears turning, wondering how this all fits into his logical and concrete world. 

So when we lined up by the train, waiting to be seated, he looked around.  "Its just a regular, boring train, mom.  Its not the Polar Express."  My daughter glowed when the lights came on, and told the engineer that his train to the North Pole was very, very pretty.  My son just sat and stewed.   "Are you mad at me that I don't believe, mama?"

So we climb aboard, take our seats and wait.  Christmas music plays, lights and decorations are all around, kids are thrilled with the excitement of this most wonderful time.  And there he sits, pouting, sullen and sad looking out the window.  "Its not the North Pole, its farmland."  The conductor came around collecting tickets.  He put an M on my daughters for her first name and when my son reluctantly gave him his, he punched out a B on the bottom.  He wanted to hold onto the ticket for the rest of the ride...  As we rolled along, houses got further apart, the sky got darker and lights along the track began to twinkle in the windows as the rain drizzled down.  Then we passed a farm with bales of hay wrapped in plastic.  "Mom look!!  Giant marshmallows!"  And we got a smile...  Then they started reading the story.  Hot chocolate, carols, lights from the villages... And outside his window, he saw the lights. Inside he sipped hot chocolate and sang the songs.  And with a smile, he told us how the story was going to go. 

And suddenly, just like that, in front of our eyes,  he believed.  When we stopped to move the engine because of a 'herd of caribou' he looked out the window with his sister and saw glimpses of the reindeer running along side the train.  When we saw the lights of the North Pole, he was enthralled.  The houses, the lights, and Santa - standing in the middle of it all, waving.  My kids eyes sparkled brighter than the Christmas lights and he couldn't wait for a chance to see Santa up close, say Merry Christmas and see what was in that wonderful red bag. 

Santa handed out little silver bells.  If you're familiar with the story, you know that you only hear the sound of the bell if you believe.  When Santa handed a bell to my daughter, she shook it and it instantly jingled.  When my son got one, he waited, just a split of a split of a second...  And then he shook it.  And it jingled.  And he believed.

In the span of an hour and a half, I saw the magic of this season.  I saw something that was worth so much more than what any store could offer.  I saw a little boy, who is on the verge of becoming so much, sit back, relish being seven and three quarters, and enjoy the magic that Christmas brings.  I didn't hear once about the toys that he wanted, or that his friends are getting.  There was no bickering between our kids. 

There was nothing but love, family and the sweet spirit of Christmas. 

That is what I want to remember.  That is what I want to teach my kids.  That is what I want my kids take with them into their own families.  The ability to believe.  And the knowledge that sometimes, a little magic mixed with a little love, is all it takes to get there.