Message from Meredith

 During the opening and closing of every Grey's Anatomy episode, Meredith Grey voices her thoughts on a specific life topic.  I ALWAYS listen very closely because it never fails to stir something inside me.  I always find personal truth in what she says.  It reminds me how much alike we all are.

Meredith Grey (opening):

You know how when you were a little kid, and you believed in fairy tales? That fantasy of what your life would be. White dress, Prince Charming, who’d carry you away to a castle on a hill. You’d lie in bed at night and close your eyes, and you had complete and utter faith.

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close, you could taste them. But eventually, you grow up. One day you open your eyes, and the fairy tale disappears. Most people, turn to the things and people they can trust.

But the thing is… it’s hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely. Because almost everyone still has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they’ll open their eyes, and it will all come true.

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy.  
My kids believed in them all. 

As a parent, it was so much fun playing along.

The carrots on the roof for the reindeer.
The cookies and milk left out for Santa.
Taking bites out of the cookies and dumping the milk back into the jug after they went to bed.
Taking soot out of the fireplace and putting in on the hearth.
Writing notes from Santa back to the kids with my left hand.
Standing in long lines at the mall to see Santa (not so much fun!)
Buying different wrapping paper for the gifts from Santa.


I always wondered every year if they still "believed".
I would watch their faces and listened to their words, trying to detect clues of doubt.


By 5th grade, I feared Adam would be the butt of jokes at school if he talked about Santa, so I decided it was time to talk to him.


I felt it was important to tell him in a way that would not make him feel stupid.  


Instead of telling him Santa was not real - that it was all a lie - I told him that Santa is the magic of the Christmas season.  
Santa represents the spirit of goodness,
                             the faith,
                             the joy,
                             the generosity,
                                        the hope - 
everything that you really look forward to at Christmas time.
Children need something more concrete to believe in until the time they can understand the real meaning of Santa.

He understood, and he was more than happy to be a part of keeping the secret for his sisters until they were ready to know the real meaning of 
Santa. 

Meredith Grey (closing):

At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like, one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed.

The castle… well, it may not be a castle. And, it’s not so important that it’s happy ever after. Just that it’s happy right now. See, once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you. And once in a while… people may even take your breath away.