Santa's Story

Pour old Santa! ..... (pour him a drink)

("This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect anonymity")

He was rather a sad fellow full of self pity. The convivial cheery old man with a friendly word for all was a fraud. Hidden behind the beard was a very insecure lonely man who put on an act to boost self worth and gain approval from the rest of the world. He'd set himself the impossible task of getting all the right gifts to all the right children all at the precise time required, even though certain gifts were in short supply. He knew some would be disappointed but feared that he would be blamed. His rather bulbous red nose bore witness to the many glasses of whisky consumed to build confidence before he could bring himself to venture out into the night. Indeed it was only the thought of the mince pies and many glasses of sherry that would sustain him through the night that gave him the incentive to continue. His helper, the Christmas tree fairy, was always at his side. She loved old Santa in spite of himself. She was a lovely creature though she had become a rather formidable and controlling sort of character. She would do anything for him. She did her best to keep him on schedule and sorted the presents while he part ook of refreshments laid out for them at the various venues visited and wasted precious time. He often swore and hurled abuse at her when he took the wrong gift blaming her for everything that went wrong. He accused her of nagging when she attempted to talk to him about the drinking. It was she who constantly apologised for his mistakes and took all the blame for not getting him to the venues on time, but Santa was filled with resentment and was in no mood to be trifled with.

Eventually they returned to Santa's home after the Christmas Eve run, and while parking the sleigh, the fairy noticed a tree left in the back. She had worked hard to try to get Santa through Christmas without a hitch and she felt let down. She went up to Santa and challenged him. She said, "There's a tree that you forgot to deliver in the back of the sleigh . What are you going to do about it." Santa said nothing and thought for a moment. He couldn't take criticism, then....he turned on the good fairy and lunged toward her with the tree.....This is why whenever you see a Christmas tree fairy ....She's always stuck on top of a Christmas tree.!!!!!!

Though originally intended as a funny story there's a lesson to be learned.

Santa found AA. He was still under pressure at Christmas and he still was unable to supply all the right gifts at the right time. He accepted that he was human. He stopped trying to be all things to all men and began to concentrate more on what needed to be done considering the situation as it was, and not how it should have been. He was less concerned of how he was perceived by others. The fairy is still around. She found Al-Anon she has a life now with interests of her own. She's a much more fun person to be with. She doesn't even attempt to take responsibility for Santa, he makes his own decisions. She still helps out at extra busy times with the family business. It's not interference, they discuss it. It's something that is now greatly appreciated by Santa. In AA & Al-Anon they found serenity and happiness.

So have a wonderful Christmas and spare a thought for the Christmas tree Fairy.

Love from a grateful AA.