Jaded Jackie: Monday, May 20, 2013

I had planned to write this blog about current events in my family such as Brendan's graduation or Jen's engagement party, but I'll save that for another day and write about my dad instead. My dad is a great guy. Really great. He always puts his family first and does as much as he can for us. To do this, from as far back as I can remember, he has had multiple jobs to support us.
While he worked part time at a United Artist's movie theater, he worked full time at KeySpan (now National Grid). At KeySpan, the company always had a Christmas party for the families of the workers. Ever since I can remember, my dad has volunteered his time to dress up as Santa Claus for the company. Not only did he do this at the party, but he went around with the company choir to various offices, hospitals, and charities during the Christmas season. Even though he is now retired from this company, he has about six or seven suits that he still wears for charities and his own work. He charges about $150 for the first half hour and I think $100 or $50 for every half hour after that.
Some people may think that this was unfair to my childhood because I may have never believed in Santa. However, it was actually the complete opposite. My parents did the best they could to keep this from me and my brother, but even when we did realize that my dad did this, they convinced me that he was "Santa's Helper." My dad even mailed letters to our house pretending to be Santa thanking my dad for helping him out during the busy holiday season!
Even though my dad does this and is known for his Santa Claus persona, he has also worn many other costumes in the past. I remember him wearing costumes such as Simba from The Lion King, Chuckie from The Rugrat's, Shrek, Yogi Bear, Batman, Baby New Year, and many other characters and even then, I never knew they were my dad!