Me: “What does your heart tell you is true?”
Her: “That there is no Easter Bunny. It’s just you and Daddy.”
3, 2, 1…goodbye, part of your childhood innocence. You’re about to take another step into the world of grown-ups.
I took a moment and a breath.
Then, I responded factually, “You can always trust me to tell you the truth. You are correct. Daddy and I hide the eggs.”
There. It was out.
Before I could mourn my little one growing up before my eyes, she added, “You know, Mommy, it makes perfect sense. When I think about a bunny hopping all over the place with baskets full of eggs, it really is kind of ridiculous.” Then, she laughed heartily and requested that her daddy and I hide them inside rather than outside.
She seemed relieved, really.
I don’t know how long she’d been wondering about the Easter Bunny, but it seemed as if a small weight had been lifted off her little shoulders.
Her shoulders are still little. At almost six, she’s still little.
She went on playing that day as usual. She woke up excited to find the eggs we’d hidden. She remarked that some were “too easy to find,” but others still took her awhile to locate.
She wasn’t heartbroken at all. She was, if anything, validated.
At dinner that night, the day we celebrated Easter as we always have, she asked to read the book, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” She asked nothing about Santa. I suspect that part of her already knows about him, too. And part of her-in fact, almost all of her-is still just as innocent as she was yesterday before dinner.
She’s growing up perfectly well, trusting that it’s safe to ask the tricky questions.
Originally published here.
Sarah R. Moore is an internationally published writer and the founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. She’s currently worldschooling her family. Her glass is half full.
