Yes, Haylee, There Really Is a Santa Claus

     This morning, I got on the internet and saw a Yahoo article about the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) Santa Tracker.  A friend had just posted on Facebook about how much her daughter enjoys it even though she doesn't believe in Santa anymore.  So I thought my kids might enjoy it too, even though Natalee and Haylee haven't believed in Santa for awhile now.  So I read the article and found the link to the NORAD Santa Tracker website.  I went to the website and then went out and showed it to the kids.  They were fascinated by it and asked me how they keep track of Santa.  I explained how NORAD is the military in charge of tracking things in the air and so they use all their resources to track Santa.  I also read them the part of the article that I thought was the funniest; the explanation of how this all started:

"So, why would a North American command center that usually is looking out for threats to the air and water turn its attention to jolly Saint Nick? It all started back in 1955, when a local Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog that promised a Santa hotline misprinted the number. Instead of Santa, callers got Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD.

Calls going into the command center were generally red alerts from the secretary of defense or even the president. Instead, a little girl on the other end of the line asked for Santa. Col. Harry Shoup, who was working on Christmas Eve, knew a call to service when he heard one. He instructed staff members to check the radar for signs of Santa. And the tradition has continued ever since."

     About a half an hour later, Haylee was with me in my bedroom watching me wrap a Christmas present for Mackenzie.  As I finished up and handed the present to her to label, she said something about the Santa Tracker again.  Then she said, "Mom, I always thought that Dad was Santa.  You know, since you're the Tooth Fairy.  I thought that Dad was Santa...."  She seemed very amazed to discover that Santa is real after all.  I mean, if he weren't real, why would there be a website by the military dedicated to tracking his movements on Christmas Eve?  So thanks to NORAD, my 9 year old is, once again, a believer!