Schuyler has always had a strong association with Christmas, being born four days before. It's no coincidence that her middle name is Noelle.
I took her to see Santa today.
She prepared for her audience with The Man all morning, practicing what she was going to say over and over. When it was finally her turn, she uncharacteristically hesitated for a moment, and then jumped up in his lap and told him her name, using the Big Box of Words, and what she wanted for Christmas. ("I want earrings and necklace and bracelet and ring." Apparently it's Schuyler's year for bling.) When it came time for the photo, she handed me her device impatiently. It was a scene that at a glance looked very much the same as any other kid visiting Santa.
I could tell it was different for him, though. The other kids were rushed through pretty quickly, but Santa took his time with Schuyler. He asked her questions, which she answered on the BBoW, and he spoke to her, softly so that only she could hear what he said. She listened intently and nodded solemnly every so often, seemingly very aware of the importance of her audience with Santa. Her eyes shone and she watched his face with reverence the whole time. It's often hard to know what exactly is going through her mind, but one thing was very clear today. Schuyler believes.
They took the photo and then Santa gave her a long hug, closing his eyes for just a moment. After Schuyler hopped down, I saw him push up his glasses and quickly wipe his eyes before turning and motioning for the next kid. As we walked away, I saw him turn and look at her, watching her thoughtfully.
Schuyler made Santa believe. I know how he must have felt.
43 comments:
What a touching post. It made my eyes tear up too. :)
Oh, Rob.
You just made me cry.
I have no words.
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Rob! Merry Christmas! And may Schuyler get all the bling in the world. :)
GAH, Rob. Now we ALL have to wipe our eyes!
Beautiful - Merry Christmas to you, Schyler and Julie.
You have such a beautiful, magical girl. She has the soul of Tiny Tim and the heart of a lion and the face of a pixie and you just might be the luckiest dad in the whole wide world. It always warms my heart when you write about these unbelievable moments with your daughter...you take the time to notice her beauty and that makes you just as special and wonderful as her.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
P.S. Tell Schuyler to stop growing...she looks a little too grownup in that picture. Seems like just yesterday she was all chub and smiles.
May that Santa's Helper continue his work for years to come.
He is the perfect example of a True Santa Claus.
Loving, Gentle, Kind.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Oh, my.
I hope that makes it into the book. It's beautiful.
Now THAT is what all the Christmas hoopla is about. Inspiring and touching Rob. May you and Julie and Schuyler have the best Christmas ever!!
Oh my goodness, what a wonderful Santa. And what a wonderful daughter too. Happy holidays and beaucoup bling for Schuyler.
Ok, now I have to wipe my eyes too.
Jesus, Rob. I'm really worried about reading that book of yours. Your writing brings me to tears...always very touching. No doubt, you are very talented at pulling others' heart strings.
Now keep the magic: Santa sometimes droped a present on the roof, or for the apartment, half out the window, caught by its ribbon. And I always had to gripe about the black footprints (which didn't match anyone's shoes in the house) which led out of the fireplace and around the tree ... and darn that man, pieces of his red and white suit got caught in the fireplace screen every year! (or in the window)...
Merry Christmas.
Oh my, I'm a total grinch and somehow Schuyler always gets to me...this one especially.
=)
happy holidays!
Oh my goodness. Teary eyed over here... and wishing you, Julie, and ESPECIALLY Schuyler a truly wonderful holiday.
Thank you for that.
beautiful.
Yes, Schuyler, there really is a Santa Claus... and I'm so glad you got to meet the real one, because he sounds like a true gem.
It's not often that the Jolly Old Elf gets a gift in return.
No surprise that his gift came from our Schuyler.
Bless y'all.
Oh, Rob. Merry Christmas to you, too. *sniff* I know you sometimes feel inadequate as a father (what parent doesn't?), but you tell her story so wonderfully. You make us all believe.
You really do have a gift for writing and I don't say that lightly. You made me cry and I read it to my husband and he cried too. Merry Christmas to Schuyler and the whole Rob family.
reading some things you write about schuyler, like this one, makes me feel like i'm part of something larger in the world, even if i'm just reading about it, just a spectator.
Merry Christmas to you, I've commented before when something has touched me, and catching up on ur last few posts.. , just... ahh. no words to describe. Be safe and God bless!
You just made me push up my glasses and wipe my eyes as well. I hope she had a fantastic Christmas.
I am so glad that Santa realized how special she was and how much just a few extra minutes would mean to her.
She is too precious.
Hope she got lots of glitter.
Happy holidays.
Beautiful post.
How lovely!
Great entry and a great picture. Happy holidays to the R-H crew! Nice jump in the book too. 85%! (Chapter 18: The Village....look you guys! Rob's writing about us!). I'm curious, with the end of the book just around the corner are you starting to have any anxiety about your first completed work hitting the market, or is it all excitement?
Mark G.
Wow. Thank you for sharing this moment with us. Merry Christmas.
Oh, pure anxiety, I'm sure. Next comes "Now it's finished, but can I fix the parts that suck?", followed by "Are they going to send it back for rewrites or just reject the whole thing?", and then "Is my author photo going to make me look like I got hit in the head to many times?", and then finally "What if I wrote a book and nobody bought it?"
Followed, of course by "Shit, what next?"
Altough I have to be honest (and I know a lot of people out there would kill to have this problem), my bigest issue right now is "Why haven't I gotten the first part of my book advance yet?" We're going to have Christmas 2.0 this year, hopefully while it's still this year.
Thank you for that wonderful story. It occurred to me as I read it that 60 years ago, Schuyler would have been institutionalized—for her own good and the good of your other children. She would have been given some kind of label—maybe “moron” but given her communication problems, more likely “idiot” or imbecile.” At Christmas the church youth group would have caroled in the halls and brought her a package with candy and oranges—which the staff would have gently taken away because of her swallowing problems and promised her ice cream instead. You might have even brought her home for the day, or visited her there, but you could not communicate beyond gestures and hugs and no one would be happy.
Thirty years ago—and in many places still today—Schuyler would have been living with you but traveling many miles every day on the short bus to a special school. You, and she, would be struggling with sign language. Santa would make a special trip to her school, bringing treats from the local Lions club. She and all the other girls in the class would get baby dolls with zippers and buttons that would help them learn life skills.
And today—Schuyler goes to the Santa in the mall. She climbs on his lap and tells him what she wants for Christmas. How ordinary. What a miracle. I suppose some people would say this is a mainstreaming success story. I say this is one girl’s real life. Bless that Santa. Bless Schuyer. Bless the inventor of the BBOW, and the Plano schools, and her all teachers and friends and especially her wonderful parents. Thank you for sharing Schuyler with all of us.
You made me cry. In the best way possible.
What a great Santa; so many would be jaded and not have the interest to share a magic moment with a child like this.
Hope you all had/have a very happy holiday, and best wishes for 2007.
What a beautiful post!
That just...rocks. Truly.
I hope Santa brought her everything else she asked for. :)
that is the coolest santa story. and happy belated birthday to the schuyler.
i can't believe you are almost done w/ the book! i can't wait to buy a case. that is still my plan you know, to pass'em out to all my friends!
So sweet! I hope this makes it into the book too. She looks so confident in the picture with her head held high, doesn't she!
That's just beautiful. God bless that man.
Please pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease show us some pictures of the blingiest bling in the world that you are going to get her!
I'm so glad Schuyler got such a lovely Santa Claus, and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
I've been without internet and missing your blog - it's so great to be back catching up. This post brought many tears, it's just so lovely.
Schuyler really does have a gift for touching people.
I read occasionally, but not often, and damn if this didn't make me all watery. She is such a cutie, too - and I'm not usually maternal at all. So sweet....
-Another Noelle-for-a-middle-name
Thanks for sharing Rob.
I've got tears in my eyes, and I'm at work.
God bless you all.
Darn it. I need to go find a tissue.
That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read.
I didn't need the cry. Lord knows I have enough reasons to shed tears.
But it is a therapeutic cry, nonetheless.
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