If someone had told me years ago that I would be married to a professional Santa, I probably would have smiled and said, well, that sounds fun, but I never would have believed it. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we make room for in our lives…
When Richard first stepped into his Santa season, it felt… a little strange.
He’s always been quiet. A bit reserved. Not exactly what you’d picture when you think of someone who, for a season, steps into a studio or a family’s living room , spaces filled with children, laughter, and a kind of wonder that’s hard to explain.
I’ll be honest, I made fun of him a little.
His curl specialist.
The products.
The time it took to get everything just right… especially compared to my much simpler routine.
It all felt a bit over the top.
But somewhere along the way, something began to change.
Not all at once…
but slowly, in ways I didn’t expect.
Not because I set out to understand it…
but because I chose not to push it away.
Not just in him… but in me.
If I hadn’t made room for it,
for this unexpected, slightly unusual, very real part of his life,
I would have missed so much.
I would have missed the way he grew into it.
The quiet confidence.
The gentleness.
The way he began to carry something deeper than a costume or a season.
Because what I began to see was this…
Santa wasn’t something he put on for December.
It was something that began to shape how he showed up all year long,
with kindness, with patience, with a kind of steady presence that feels more and more rare.
And it made me wonder how often we miss something beautiful simply because we haven’t made room for it yet.
Not everything arrives in our lives the way we expect it to.
Some things feel inconvenient.
Some feel unfamiliar.
Some even feel a little uncomfortable at first.
But sometimes… those are the very things that grow into something meaningful.
This season, I’ve been thinking about that more and more,
what I’m holding onto…
and what I might be willing to make room for… even when it doesn’t look like what I expected.
Because not everything we’re meant to carry forward is something we planned for.
Some of the most meaningful parts of our lives are the ones we simply chose to welcome.