Yesterday morning as we drove to school in the dim light of the morning fog, a little voice asked from the back seat said -“mommy can I write a letter to Santa tonight?”

The tiny voice broke to silence of the early morning commute. Her voice full of innocence.

“Of course, baby. What are you going to ask Santa for this year?”

Quietly thinking to myself, I truly had no idea what she wanted or needed for Christmas this year. I had forgotten to really make a mental Christmas list in my head with all the other craziest going on in the world.

“No, mom I wanted to ask him not to come this year!”

Stunned, I keep my eyes on the frosted black top and asked for more information.

“Because if he is going to everyone else’s house, I DON’T WANT him to bring those bad germs to our house. What if he has COVID-19 mommy and brings it to us?”

Salty tears welled up in my eyes imminently. I took a long shallow breath, I could feel my heart racing and breaking at the same time. I blinked away the tears, keeping my eyes on the road instead of meeting her worried filled eyes in the rear-view mirror.

I calmly explained to her that everything would be ok.

Then I did what every GREAT mom does in a situation like this… I lied!

 I told her that this year Santa will just be order gifts on Amazon and leave them on the door step. That way he won’t bring germs into our home and it will be a safe Christmas.

The truth is, our kids have big worries right now.

Their little world is so upside down right now. They don’t feel safe in places they normally would. At school we are always telling them to wash hands, sanitize and wear masks. At home we are cleaning and wiping down things. Trips to places that were once normal (such as parks, movies, shopping, outings) now make parents stressed (they can pick up on that). They are also seeing not seeing extended family as much anymore…. The list goes on!

It’s our jobs as parents right now, our main priority, should providing them with a safe haven. Letting them deal with their fears and anxieties about the world. We need to try our best to provide them with a childhood, even though it may not be a “normal” one right now.

It’s a reminder that they have fears too. They are trying to understand this new world as much as we are.

So, this year our Christmas morning will be filled with opening amazon boxes and not stockings. And I am ok with that if it gives my kids a peace of mind that they are safe and everything will be ok.