Goodbye to the Big Three

Caleb took a step toward adulthood yesterday when he officially learned the truth about The Big Three--The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Ever since he was about 5 and googled some questions about the Easter Bunny and found out that the bunny is really a human dressed in a costume, I have been waiting for him to put it all together. I've been suspicious for a while that he knew something was up, like this Christmas when Santa Claus called down from the rooftop through the chimney that it was time for the kids to go to bed and Caleb started racing through the house determined to figure out where Grandpa Dave had gone. I noticed some eye rolling this Easter when I saw a family of bunnies in our backyard and asked the kids if they thought any of them were Easter bunnies. And he seemed to have a hunch about the tooth fairy when he began playing the Bead Fairy, leaving his own money and a cute letter for Sierra in exchange for beads. When he first began loosing teeth as a kindergartener, I made up an elaborate character named Samson the Tooth Fairy who left Caleb long letters about life in fairy land, including eating habits, magical carnival rides, encounters with cats and fairy bullies, and even some stories from Fairy Mythology. Caleb would write back with questions and explanations about human life, and it was a very fun way for me to interact with him (albeit he didn't know it was me) and for him to stretch his writing skills. I've known it was coming for a while, and Caleb said he figured out the truth some time ago and was too embarrassed to bring it up, but it still feels like the end of an era of childhood wonder and magic. Of course, we still have Sierra and Madeline, but Sierra is already having a crisis of faith after a world-wise friend of hers told her that she caught her mom putting money under her pillow after loosing a tooth and that Santa doesn't exist. Sierra won't leave her tooth under her pillow any more because she's nervous the fairy will wake her up when she comes, and she's terrified of elves, so we'll see how long she lasts. Madeline is just getting old enough to understand holidays and characters, so we might have a few more years of enchantment. I asked Caleb is he was upset (I've always worried he would feel like we were deceiving him), and he said he was glad he got to believe for a while and he's glad he knows that truth now. Then, he gave a shy smile and says he can't wait until Christmas Eve when it will be his job to consume the cookies and write the kids a thank you note from Santa.