A couple of days ago Maddie said “Mommy, Jesus is coming.” (I'm sure you're seeing a trend in our childrens conversations. Lately in our home Jesus gets talked about more than Dora and less than Blues Clues.) Struck by the profound thought I answered “Your right Maddie Jesus is coming.” But not to confuse her too much I added “But probably not today.” And Kirtlan said, “No Maddie, Jesus isn’t coming. Jesus is just pretend.” Heartbroken by what I just heard and concerned that the worlds of pretend and reality were being confused by the boy, I told him, “No, Jesus is real. Santa Clause is pretend.” (I realize that most people reading this think I’m crazy for telling a 2 and 4 year old that Santa isn’t real, but they’re my kids and I HATE lying to them about anything.) I got the most incredulous looks from my children. Kirtlan said, “Na-uh, Santa Clause is real, silly mommy!!!” to which Maddie quickly agreed. Kirtlan then added, “He visited our house. Don’t you remember?” They both just looked at me like I was the stupidest woman on the planet…”Santa Clause is pretend, ha!” I wouldn’t leave the conversation until I got them both to tell me that Jesus was real, then left their belief in Santa Clause just as strong as ever.