Magical Thinking

Is there an expiration date on wonder?

By Summer Block

For Christmas this year, my daughter wants Santa to bring her a magic wand that allows her to enter books and movies, interact with the characters, and change their outcomes. This is the only thing she wants for Christmas, and she’s wanted it for months. She also wants the wand to resurrect the dead, though she adds this bonus feature as something of an afterthought, like a stand mixer that also makes sausage.

It’s not an unreasonable thing to ask. Given that I’ve told her that an immortal, godlike man lives at the North Pole amid ageless elves and flying reindeer, and that once a year he flies around the entire planet delivering custom-made presents to 1.2 billion children in a single evening, it’s not such a leap to assume he could also design and deliver a magic wand that’s basically just a tricked-out Tivo.

I want to give Beatrice an American Girl doll for Christmas. They are nice dolls, well-made, handsome, and with a lot of historical fiction novellas and girl-power accessories to justify their absurd pricetag. And yes, I always wanted one when I was a little girl. Beatrice wants one, too, at least as much as she ever wants anything.

“When I get my magic wand,” she says, “I’ll get a little one for my doll, too!”