I've been replaying a scene over and over in my head. Our Belle is 9...nearing the end of her belief in the magic of Santa, I'm quite sure. One night, a couple of weeks ago, we were lying in her bed...she, (obviously, you'll see why soon...) contemplating the important stuff in the world; me, mindlessly playing Words with Friends on my phone. I remember her asking, "Mom, is Santa a spirit?" And, without thought, I muttered, " Mmmmm hmmmm ." Totally intent on trying to manipulate my letters into triple point words. It was only later that I realized what she may have been asking. The oh so important, "Is Santa Claus real?" question...and I may have just brushed off all her childhood innocence with a casual, " mmmm hmmm ". *FOREHEAD SLAP*!!!!! Ugh! What do I do?! Should I bring it up to her? Wait to see if she asks again? If I do bring it up to her, how do I do so without raising questions if she really didn't have any?!! ARRRRGG...