The Man Called Santa

I had been promising Mohamed and Suhur that they could decorate my Christmas tree for nearly two weeks. It started when we drove down to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights. On the drive, Suhur spotted a car with a Christmas tree on top of it. When she asked me what it was and why it was there, I tried to explain it to her. Later that night, I showed her a decorated Christmas tree and told them they could decorate one at my house. And now, the night was finally here.

I had flashes of terror for the days leading up to the event, remembering how our Halloween Pumpkin Carving fiasco had transpired... 2 kids turned into 7. And of course, to fight away those terrible thoughts, I decide that instead of just decorating a Christmas tree, we better decorate sugar cookies, too!

When I got to the apartment to pick up the kids, we talked for a few minutes around the table while the kids got ready to go. After tinkering with their broken toilet (for whatever reason, they decided it was bad that the back filled up with water and tied off the little pump so that it wouldn't), we hit the road with only one "plus-one", Ayan.

I turned up the Christmas music in my car and we half-way sung along to the songs they knew. The song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" came on and Suhur got thoughtful and asked, "Krista, you see this man they call Santa?" I admitted I had never seen Santa because he comes at night when the kids are sleeping. She kind of nodded and kept looking out the window, obviously listening closely to the song about "the man they call Santa." She asked another question, "What is 'to town?'" I explained. Then she got serious, "So this man they call Santa, he will come to my house, too, if I am nice and not naughty?"

Obviously caught off guard, I stumbled over my words. How do I explain this to a 9-year old Muslim refugee? I lied. "Santa visits all the nice kids."

"You think I'm nice, Krista, right?"

"Yes, Suhur, I think you are very nice."

"And not naughty?"

"Not at all."

"So then if you think I'm nice, this man called Santa will, too! And then he can come to my town and visit me!"

I smiled and nodded.

Then, I thought furiously about how I could make that happen without blowing my (and "the man they call Santa's") cover.