I've been doing Jumbo Claus for thirty years. Those first kids that I visited are in their mid thirties now. Last night I went to a Presbyterian church that hosted families that were facing tough times.
The children were invited with their grandparents because their parents are dead, incarcerated or addicted to drugs. The church had 12 to 15 families with 30-40 kids.
I don't know who was more happy to see Santa.... the children or the grandparents. The kids were shy at first, but warmed up quickly. I had a couple kids that were on the spectrum that I bonded with quickly.
It was a shy girl in her teens that worried me. She was there with her grandparents. Grampa had a nervous smile and Gramma was on oxygen. The girl had dark eyeliner and bleached hair. She was wearing a sweatshirt from a local high school drama club.
She didn't want anything to do with Santa Claus, but when I asked her about drama, she warmed up. We talked about comedy and tragedy and how the stage parallels life. I told her to keep the theater in her life. It will help her find her voice and give her balance.
When I was leaving their table, Gramma lipped the words "Thank you Santa."
I hope Gramma saw something that I didn't. Because to me, I thought I left a confused and sad little girl sitting alone with her tired grandparents.
I woke up this morning and thought about that little girl, I daydreamed that she won a Tony Award and thanked Santa Claus for pushing her to stay on the stage. Then I prayed that she just makes it through the Christmas season.
