Last Letter to Santa

My family and I spent much of last night going through keepsakes in my old cedar chest. I was amazed at the things I had managed to save: school report cards, my children's artwork from early elementary school, homemade Mother's Day cards, all the letters my father had written to me while I was in the military, and the list goes on...With each object retrieved from the chest, there was a story to accompany it. One item we came across was a letter Rachel had written to Santa in December 2001.

The story: Rachel was nine years old when she wrote that letter and, although most of her friends had told her that Santa didn't exist, she wanted so desperately to hold onto that belief. One day after school, Rachel asked, "Mom, are you and Dad really Santa Claus? My friends say that you are." I asked, "Do you really want to know?" and she replied, "Yes." I told her to come into my bedroom, that I didn't want Morgan to hear, and then I said, "Yes, your dad and I are Santa." She looked at me, tears filling her eyes, and yelled, "You're lying! There is a Santa!" I did what any other loving, nurturing mother would do. I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Yes, you're right. There IS a Santa." From that day on, we never spoke another word about the existence of Santa. The Christmas holiday in the Revels household proceded as normal. The exchange between Rachel and I did, however, sparke a letter to Santa. This would be the last letter she would ever write to Santa. Here it is, errors and all, a letter from a nine-year-old:

Dear Santa Claus,
Are you real? My mom said she is santa. It is me remember Rachel ______. I have a lot of things on my list already. I don't trust my mom. My sister is a pain in the neck. Last year you wrote to me after I wrote to you. The things down below are the things I want for Christmas. You don't have to get me every thing just a few things. Please write to me if you are real. The thing I want the most is a best friend that only I can see and they can live with me. My real best friend is not in my class and she never comes over. November 18, 2001 my best friend was sopposed to come over but my mom would not let her she promisd she could come over but she would not let her. I know this is along letter but I have a lot of things to tell you about. November 21, 2001 I brought a bug to school I showed it to my Principal she thought it was cool. I showed it to my teacher and she was scared of it. This is the list.

List of toys
1. Harry Potter doll
2. Barbie volys wagon
3. A big jeep
4. A piano that can fit in my room
5. Harry Potter
6. A couple of hip hop cds
7. A flexible chair
8. Some movies
9. Air snare

Love,
Rachel

Same Kind of Different As Me

I just finished reading one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read--SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. I happened upon this book by complete accident, strolling through Barnes and Noble while looking for another book in specific. As I was leaving the store, the cover of this book jumped out at me and being a special education teacher, the title gave me the impression that the book was about diversity, disabilities, and tolerance, or the lack thereof. In a way, I was right but the story was not at all what I expected. The producers of the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" are working on translating this book to film. It's a definite must-read! In addition, there's a website to visit but only AFTER you've read the book: http://www.samekindofdifferentasme.com/.

"A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it."

Summer Highlights

My summer days come to an end and so I reflect on the activities as this season passes. Softball prevailed in July.

Camping with family and friends took place in the latter part of the summer. My neice, Shannon, left for Ft. Pickett on August 19th and will head on to Iraq October.

Then, of course, there is Rachel's sweet 16 birthday party!