Diamondlady1025

Hi Angela!

Thank you for your kind words. And yes, you are right it does fall under the
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"! :) One of my favorite books....
When I read it, it makes me cry! :)

I understand that of your cousin's situation, as well. Believe it or not, my
parents were also physical and emotionally and mentally abusive too. My
mother used to beat me with anything she could find - a shoe, a belt buckle
or her favorite was for me to find my "switch" from this long tall purple
tree in our front yard with long thin branches. My father, he was and still
is emotionally abusive. His words cut like a knife to me as a young
impressionable young girl.

It took counseling when I was 13 (after my mother was attempting to beat me
in the kitchen with a shoe and I grabbed a knife in self defense), for us to
get past the physical abuse, and she then never laid a hand on me again. And
should would never even dream of doing so with my children, as she is
getting her "second chance" as she puts it to make things right.

My father, is my father, and I have accepted that he is who he is. He
continues to abuse me in this way even today. When I have stronger days, I
stand up to him, other days it is harder when I am sick (I have just been
diagnosed with Lupus and Thrombophilia or sticky blood as it is called) but
overall I try not to let his words pierce me and I have learned too that I
cannot change him, only change myself and my reaction or non-reaction to it.

So I can relate very much to your cousin. But somehow, for me, despite the
abuses going on, there were good times I remember and my feelings about
Santa never changed, I just love the spirit and meaning behind Santa, as I
wrote! :) Has your cousin been able to work through the issues?

So, yes, Angela, there is a Santa Claus! :)

Thanks for making my day sweeter by your kind words!:)
------Original Message----
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 08:03:13 -0400
From: "Angela" <game-enthusiast@...>
Subject: RE: Re: Santa....a different view

Patti,
What you wrote was beautiful and also the theme behind "yes Virginia, there
is a Santa Claus", which I love and plan to share with my children at some
point.

I also wanted to mention that the cousin I mentioned who felt so betrayed by
her parents also had a LOT of other issues with regards to her parent's
parenting. So, it's not like the Santa issue was the only thing she was
lied to about. There was both physical and mental abuse to go with it.

Angela
<mailto:game-enthusiast@...> game-enthusiast@...

Patti wrote:
<snip>
Santa may not be real in the sense of we cannot feel, touch, smell, taste or
hear him BUT we can believe in what he is in our hearts - a sense of
innocence, a sense of awe and wonder at life and of life and in life.
<snip>

And Rebeca wrote:
<snip>
I have friends who were terribly bothered by their parent's
'lies' about Santa. But, then again, lots of things about their upbringing
bother them.


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