Santa travels on easyjet

We live quite near an airport. Thankfully not close enough so we hear them scream overhead, but close enough that if you look out of our windows on a clear night you can see them buzzing around the sky above us.

One night last year nearing Christmas, Meg & I were watching stars out of her bedroom window. Suddenly she whispered in that deafening way kids can "Daddy look, its Santa!" Sure enough, in the sky was a red and yellow flashing light, slowly flying above the rooftops.

"He's coming!", Meg shouted this time.

It was still a week or two before Christmas Day so I thought I'd capitalise a bit on the Santa Claus legend. I said that it was indeed Santa but;

"He's only doing a 'fly past'. Each night he checks up on each child to see if they've been good or not. You have to tell him that you've been good" I told her.

So, each night between then and Christmas day she would wait at her window until she saw a plane fly past. "Santa, I've been good as gold today" She would whisper to the sky.

Meg would have been 3 years old then. She still had some remnants of baby in her.

I'd forgotten all about Santa's pre Christmas audits until last night. More or less a year later. It was about six o'clock and Meg was the lounge window. I could hear her whispering something, but couldn't hear clearly. I sneaked up behind her and stood with her for a bit. She whispered it again, this time I heard.

"I've been good today Santa"

Sure enough, the lights of an airplane were blinking in the distance. It took me aback a little that Meg had remembered this from last year. I'm not sure when this long term memory starts to form at the age of three. Perhaps Meg has been sneakily standing at her window all year, talking to Santa.