Ok, so this Santa thing....

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sarah (click in my friends list to find her journal) who married a nice gentleman whose father, for all intents and purposes, is Santa.
From what I understand, Mr. Father-in-Law fills in for Santa during the holiday season by taking photos and wishes from youngsters at shopping venues and holiday locales. Again, this is what I can surmise since the fellow is a dead ringer for The Big Guy. Heck, he may even BE the Big Guy for all outward appearances. The beard is real, he looks like he has a ton of secrets, and even has the Santa nose. What, you ask, is a Santa nose? I don’t know, except it just looks like a jolly, ol' schnaz.
Back to the wedding. The happy couple has just joined hands at the front of the sanctuary, and Sophy whispers into my ear that she has just seen Santa. Oh! Santa, I ask? Yes, he’s right behind us, she whispers. So I turn, and sure enough, Mr. Claus was situated about 4 pews behind us--red suit and all (it was more of a red tuxedo, I guess you could say.) Sophy, who has been being inordinately cooperative during the ceremony, begins to righteously insist that she must go introduce herself and request a material object that has been taped to our refrigerator in hopes that someone would have mercy on her poor, pitiful self and buy it for her. After several minutes of Sophy staring pointedly at Santa and wiggling her fingers at him and saying PSSSTT, I realize that we may get no peace, and the wedding may be interrupted by a severe bout of very loud whispering if Sophy isn’t allowed to quietly tiptoe to Santa and make her wish known. There was no fear on her part as you would think a child may be prone to. This was no stranger in a red suit (ahem.) Santa, to my knowledge, had not even acknowledged Sophy’s existence. Yet, she was most insistent that she must speak with him. Like a fly to sugar, quietly she slipped around the corner of the pew and crept up to Santa. It was instantaneous recognition, one soul recognizing another. Santa brought Sophy in for a kiss on the cheek, and like the seasoned veteran that he is, instinctively leaned closer so as to hear the request being uttered from the lips of a 5 year old. I am not sure what she said to him. He may not even know. But in her heart, she was talking to Santa. And in his heart, Mr. Father-In-Law was Santa. He nodded in agreement with her and sent her back to her seat. She sat quietly and happily for the rest of the ceremony and is convinced that Santa is on the job she gave him.
Let me tell you something. I’ve never felt so validated as when Jack leaned over to Sam and whispered, SAM! Mom was right! Santa really DOES watch us all the time! Uh-huh. Mom was right, indeed.
And now you know why Santa was at a wedding in March. (SMILE!)