I had much older brothers and sisters and I could tell they didn't believe in any of that, so I decided I wouldn't believe, either. But, they had so much fun trying to convince me that it all really was true that I wasn't quite sure what to do; I also didn't know what to do about my friends who so obviously did believe in them. I eventually asked my mom and she explained that believing in these things, or pretending to, was part of the magic. It wasn't up to me to spoil anyone else's magic moments, whether that was my friends, who truly believed, or my siblings, who were helping to make magic for me. She asked if I enjoyed the magic, and I admitted that I did, but that it made me feel funny since I "knew" it couldn't be true. She then explained that a lot of things we think can't be true maybe really are, at least for the person that believes it. Logic isn't everything and if it is happy magic maybe it wouldn't hurt to suspend disbelief and just enjoy it--whether we were receiving it, or making it for others as I would be for my friends and siblings by going along with it. I liked that. I still like that.
Y'know, to this day, when Puck asks for our pardon and release at the end of Tempest I can't help but tear up a bit as I applaud a little harder. Just as I still do when asked to clap if I believe in fairies--even if I'm watching alone in my own home. I can't help it. That kind of magic is just too strong, and it feels too good. Why deny myself the pleasure of a little happy magic?
LOVE this! LOVE it.
And I've often used the line with my kids that just because we have never seen something doesn't mean it's not real.
In the past year, Bioette was talking about Rudolph and his shiny red nose. She had been worried the hunters would get him. I said that I can't imagine a hunter would kill a deer with a glowing red nose; he's too special! She said something else and I said that I had never, ever seen a reindeer that could fly, much less one with a glowing nose. But nature is full of magical things. And we talked about lightning bugs making their own light and deep sea fish with their bioluminescence (some are red). With these examples, I said that clearly there were animals that had flashing or glowing body parts so I couldn't rule out the possibility of a reindeer with a glowing nose. Her big brother, Bioson, got into it and kept bringing in other examples of bioluminescent animals he knew of. He was pleased to help make the magic for her.
It was a special conversation for all of us, for different reasons.
