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Two questions today…..
1. Do your kids believe in Santa? I mean obviously I do, but I hear that some kids do not! Can you believe that? L believes (and also thinks it’s crazy that some kids don’t), but I know that, eventually, well there will be a time where he doesn’t. At what age does this happen? How old are your kids and do they believe? If you don’t have kiddos, do you remember when you stopped believing? Also, do you have that Journey song in your head right now like I do?
2. Have you ever been called for jury duty? Until now I have not, so I suppose I am overdue! If you’ve been called tell me all about it! Did you get picked for a jury? How many days did you serve? Give me the scoop and let me know what I can expect!
Can’t wait to hear your answers!
Yes they do. You don’t believe you don’t receive in my house. I Have been called to jury duty. It was a nice break from work and my toddler at the time. They can call me whenever they want. My job paid me and my state paid me. Score.
I don’t have kids, but I have 6 nieces. I think the oldest one stopped believing around 11/12. I think I was around the same age since I had a meltdown when I thought santa didn’t love me when my pager was in my stocking!
I get called for jury duty almost immediately. After you serve, you get a year of not being called in and as soon as that year is up, I always get called. Most of the time it was only one day, though I got dismissed at the end of the day. One time though it was a week long jury selection for a huge case here. They still didn’t even have jurors selected at the end of the week, but if you’re there for more than a week they have to start paying you real money so they dismissed everyone who had a number higher than, I forget the number.. but I was one of those! I would have loved to have been on the jury though, the case was very interesting.
1. My kids still believe they are 7 and 2. I cant remember what age I was but Santa brought me a trampoline and left me a card saying the mat was too big but we could return it to Sears and get the problem corrected. I realized my mom and Santa had the exact same handwriting……
2. I went once I didn’t get picked and this was before the days of WiFi and cool phones so I read all day. My Mother in Law went about a month ago and got picked for a criminal case!
i stopped believing when i read in the newspaper all the stories from parents and the crazy things they did to protect their kids’ beliefs in santa. i was 8. (and read the newspaper every day)
1. My son wasn’t a believer, I think I tried to do the whole Santa thing didn’t go over to well.
2. I have always gotten out of jury duty, lol.
What do you mean? I still believe LOL
I got jury duty, and was picked. Then again a fellow juror stated “I believe he (defendant) must be guilty’ . I’m sure he wanted to get out, and did, after the Judge gave him a piece of his mind. So, we all got dismissed as he made the statement in front the entire jury panel. So on to picking a new panel…;0
LOL. Thy basically told us if you try and pull that they will just end up calling you again for service!
Yeap, I’m sure they caught on, and make it very clear now. This was a while ago.
I got called for jury duty, but here you have to call in each morning to see if they need you, and unfourtantely they didnt need us any of the days 🙁 BOO! i though tit would be super interesting to do.
funny story about not believeing in Santa.. i have a friend whos daughter came home crying because someone told her that the Tooth fairy wasnt real. so they sat her down and told her the tooth fairy indeed wasnt real, and that santa, easter bunny, all that wasnt real either.. figuring she would know since one isnt real they all couldnt be real.. and she had a breakdown because although she knew the tooth fairy wasnt real.. she still expected that the rest were real.. #parentingfail. 🙂
Awww, that is so sad!
N still believes but I think he’s already figuring it out. We have always said the santas you see at the mall are just his helpers and he informed me the other day they were just people that needed jobs dressed up. LOL 🙁 but he still has a santa list that he is preparing and loves to look for our elf everyday so I think he still believes but is starting to get it. I have no idea when I stopped believing. I guess it just kindof happened somewhere along the way. 😉
I’ve been called twice. The first time I sat in the room until about lunch and they let us all go and then the second time I had to go down and sit in a courtroom while they tried to sit a trial but I wasn’t called for that. I liked staying in the waiting room better since I could read or look at my phone but once you get called into a courtroom you just have to sit there and watch and wait. I wouldn’t mind being on a jury if it was only a one day thing and I’d be done but I don’t want to have to do it for a long trial or anything.
OMG that cracked me up. They are just people that need jobs!
I want to stay in the jury room too. Just spring me in a few hours and we’ll be set!
I had jury duty about 20 years ago. My parents are cops and lawyers, but they wouldn’t excuse me, so they just didn’t call me and made me sit in the jury room all day. We didn’t have wifi and stuff back then and so I had to just read and otherwise be bored all day.
It is really boring. I think maybe because it’s so hot in here. LOL. But the wireless and the tvs are nice.
I don’t have kids. I was suspicious about Santa Claus for a long time. Rather than going to the mall for pictures, my parents would have my dad’s old track coach come to the house dressed as Santa (sounds weird, I know, but he was retired and this was just something he did for a little extra money and to keep busy). And we always wondered why “Santa” drove a brown Nissan. One of the teachers in another 2nd grade class in my school told the class Santa wasn’t real, so of course that went around the playground at recess time that day. So I was probably only 7 or 8 by the time I had it figured out.
I did get called for jury duty once. But I got called in Missouri several years after I had moved to Georgia. Luckily, the notice went to my parents’ house and they sent it to me. All I had to do was send an e-mail and they sent me a form to fill out with my new address and that was that.
That is interesting that he drove a Nissan! Although, I would have assumed that was one of Santa’s Helpers and not the real guy. The mall Santas are just helpers too. The big man is too busy at the North Pole for that right now!
I still believe! There is no harm in belief.
And I have been called for jury duty once, about 4 years ago. Once in the 15 years I have been registered to vote isn’t bad!
They do it based off your drivers license here, so I have been getting off pretty easy the last 20+ years when I haven’t been picked.
1. I don’t have kids, but I think I was 9 or 10 when I figured it out… However, I was told to still “believe” for the sake of my younger siblings and I still got a “Santa” present until I was 15 or so. My little brother is 6 years wounger than me, so that was only fair for him. 🙂 But I can’t wait to have kids that believe, that has GOT to be one of the most fun parenting duties!
2. Surprising no! Out of the three counties in Texas I’ve lived in, I have yet to be called! Many people consider it a burden, but depending on the case I think it could be really interesting!
It is fun! To see their faces on the morning is amazing!
I just spit out my coffee laughing when I read “Do you have that Journey song stuck in your head right now?” because as soon as I started to read this I was thinking, ” Don’t stop believin. Hold on to that feeling!” I don’t have children, but I was around 9 when I figured out the Santa thing. I always went along with it though because I loved seeing how excited my younger siblings were.
I have call in Jury duty on Friday. I have to call after 5 pm for 5 working days to see if they need me to report. I’m hoping they won’t need me and I never actually have to go in. I got called in last time when I was about 21, but that was 10 years ago.
Ha! I thought the same while I was typing out the post!
5 working days! That is a lot. I called last night just to check and here I am! They say it’s normally just one day, but it’s not looking good..
1. My step son still believes but he is almost 11 and other students are starting to talk so I don’t think it will be much longer 🙁 I found out because I stayed home from school sick and when my mom left the room I turned on the Jenny Jones show and they were talking about how to tell your kids! AHHH! Although I do still sort of believe…. 🙂
2. I have been summoned but I’ll never get picked, I have too much law enforcement in my family so I am biased. I am so curious!
Jenny Jones! I forgot about that magical show. I miss her!
1. My son is a year and a half and BARELY knows who the dude is but I am working on it. =]
2. I was called for Jury Duty in September for Macomb County. I brought a book, iPad, and chargers. Waited around until Noon and then they let us go. It was awesome. =]
That’s where I am! They let a bunch of people go, but sadly I was not one of them. So here I sit!
Well I hope that you were not there much longer! = Good luck!
1. I don’t remember how old I was when I quilt believing, but in my house you still had to pretend to believe in order to receive Santa gifts from “Santa Mom and Dad” We’d travel to my grandparents house for Christmas and I remember being worried about how Santa would find us there. And being put to bed and peeking out the window to see if I could see his sleigh. And sneaking up in the middle of the night a dozen times to peek under the tree… and getting sent back to bed. My little brother and his wife have chosen not to do Santa w/ my niece and nephew (or the Easter bunny) because they feel it takes away from Jesus’s birth and they’re lying to their kids. I think that is a bunch of bull and their kids are missing out on fun things. My parents always made sure we knew why we were celebrating Christmas and Easter. Santa and the Easter bunny were just fun additions.
2. I have never been called for jury duty yet and I’m in my 30’s. Knock on wood. I should probably check my mail more often just in case I am.
I am in my 30’s and this was the first time I have ever been called. It is super super boring.
Agreed! Santa is all part of the magic of Christmas. It’s so amazing to see little ones believe and get all excited.
After years of not getting called for jury duty, mostly because I moved pretty much every other year to different counties, I was called and had to serve on a jury in 2013. It wasn’t too bad but it was a little annoying because the court would meet for max 4 hours a day for our case so it dragged over 2 weeks, with some days “off” due to court schedule. I just got called again this year for Federal Grand Jury (thankfully moved so got out of that) and then again in the new county I live in but it was not a busy case week so they only called one jury pool.
2 weeks! I would lose my mind
And OMG a Federal Grand Jury? You have all the luck huh?
Jury duty letter for the state court level comes in every year like clock since I was about 20. I have not received a Federal Court one yet and I hope not anytime soon.
I hope to never get one from the Federal Courts!
I got called for jury duty. This was in Ohio, but when each person shows up you are given a number in the order you show. Well, I happen to be running right on time and got number 20. Basically they started with number 1 and worked there way down. They never even made it to me with questioning before they picked there jury. So if you don’t want to serve my recommendation is show up right on time or a little late. I got paid $20 by the courts for being there for an hour.
Ahh, if only it worked like that here! We all get assigned random numbers and then you are randomly selected for whatever. Doesn’t matter what time you come or anything.
1. My girls are 2 and 5 so they still believe. I hope they keep believing for a long time.
2. I’ve been called for jury duty a few times, but I’ve never had to serve.
I am hoping mine believe for ages too!
Jury Duty- I’ve been called many times & served once. It was a terrible experience for me because I don’t see things as absolutes & I felt the other jury members took one look at the guy and thought he was guilty. In the jury room, people were chatting and joking, no questions, no looking at both sides- meanwhile this guy was going to go to jail for a $5 pot sale (in a ‘sting’). A year later the key and only undercover witness was arrested crimes against children. It was just all so wrong & weird. Flip side- my friend had a great experience with a smart and caring jury who did a great job. (see, no absolutes.) Sorry for the rant & hope you have a good experience! Will you let us know how it goes?
That is weird! A $5 pot charge does not mean jail!
1. My son is 9 and I’m not totally sure about his standing on Santa. I think he may be beginning to have doubts, but he sure was happy to see Santa at the mall. He hasn’t bothered to put together a list for Santa this year, but he really hasn’t asked anyone for anything (except Mall Santa, who he asked for ‘peace to the world’). I suspect that even once he is sure it’s me he won’t say anything, he always looks out for me and likely wouldn’t want to ruin my fun.
2. I was called for jury duty once. I mailed that summons right back to them with a letter stating that I did not have child care for my young son and would not be able to fulfill my duty. I never got a letter/call back and wasn’t arrested, so I guess they accepted that!
LOL. If I get called for a trial I will have to do that!
I am cracking up that he asked for Peace to the World. My little guy asked for an iWatch and a PS4!
My husband and I don’t have kids yet and neither do any of our siblings who are married, so my 25 year old brother is the baby of the family and he still believes. My parents tried to make Christmas very special for us growing up. Santa always ate his cookies and milk at our house and took some of the carrots we left for his reindeer with him and never forgot to leave us a thank you note. Lol. My brother is 5 years younger than me so I really tried to hang on and believe for him, but I was in 5th grade when I figured it out and was in severe denial about it.
As for Jury Dury, I’m 30 and I’ve been called 4 times!! Though one of the times I got called was in Illinois and I had been living in Colorado for a couple years (without changing my drivers license, oops) so I didn’t have to go. Out of the other three time here in Colorado, I’ve been picked twice to serve on a jury. One was for a child abuse case and the other was a domestic violence case. The child abuse case lasted three days and the other only a day. I was the youngest one on the jury both times I served, so I’m convinced that’s why I was ultimately picked. They probably figured I had been through less experiences than others and would be unbiased. I am a little afraid I’m going to get called again when the James Holmes trial starts for the Aurora Theater Shooting that happened a couple years ago. Pretty sure the entire county will be called and it’ll take them forever to select a jury.
Oh I can’t even imagine how many jurors they have to go through on a big well known case like that!
We’ve never done Santa, so no…my daughter never believed. She was told early on that many people do believe and it is a fun game for their family, and she is not allowed to ruin their game.
The main reason we chose not to do the Santa myth was due to how my brother found out that Santa wasn’t real. He was 6 and our family was well below the poverty line. One of my brother’s friends was from a more affluent family and he got tons and tons of gifts for Christmas that year. My brother (and I) got a small amount of inexpensive gifts. My brother came home crying and asked my mom what he had done so bad that year that Santa didn’t love him as much as he loved his friend. I had already known that Santa wasn’t real for a few years (I figured it out when I was 5), but it seriously broke my heart to watch my brother figure it out in his own way 🙁
As for jury duty, I was called once a few years ago when I lived in Las Vegas. I did get selected for the jury and the trial I was part of had to do with those bait cars that the police plant in certain neighborhoods. It just happened that the address of this particular bait car was less than 2 miles from my house. The person on trial was found guilty and the trail itself took 2 days.
I happened to be in a criminal justice class in college at the time and it was amazing to watch the other side of the law at work. I would love to be part of a jury again!
That is such a sad story, I’m so sorry you and your brother had to go through that! I personally believed until I was 11 and when I found out I just sobbed and sobbed. I remember being so upset that my parents had told me something that wasn’t true, especially when I got in BIG TROUBLE for pretty much the same thing. I don’t have kids but when I do I think I’d like to teach them that Santa is a story about giving without expectation of thanks or gratitude and that we can all be Santa by helping others even if they don’t know what we did for them.
That is so sad ;(. That is a really hard thing about Christmas because my little guy thinks that because Santa makes everything it doesn’t matter how much it costs….
1. I’m Jewish… but even so, as a kid Santa still showed up for us! We were pretty much the only Jewish family around, so people would always just assume and ask if we’d been good so Santa would come. My parents were afraid we would think we were bad kids if he didn’t!
2. I was called twice. The first time, when I showed up, they had the lawyers up in the front of the room for the case in question, and one of them happened to be someone I know pretty well. So I was immediately dismissed. The second time I wound up not having to go. In CT they have us call the night before to see if they need you, and I guess there weren’t any pending cases.
OMG that is hysterical!!!!!! Your parents are awesome.
I think my 3 year old believes in Santa, but I’m not sure. I was always a skeptical child, and it didn’t help that my parents weren’t into fairytales and magical things, so I never believed in him. So sad.
I have been called to jury duty 4 times I think, and I’m 32. My 5th time will be this Friday. You just have to call in the night before and/or day of in the county I live in now, but when I lived in San Diego, you actually had to show up and wait. I came close to being on the jury once, and I really wanted to get on. It would’ve been such a nice break from work, and I would’ve gotten paid for it. But, since becoming stay-at-home mom, I really hope I don’t have to go. I guess I could refuse, but I like to think there’s a good chance I won’t be called again for at least another year.
I always wanted to get called when I worked too! I thought it would be such a nice change of pace. And now I am like yeah, this isn’t going to work out so well!
1. No kids. 🙂
2. I get called for jury duty routinely every couple of years. I’ve never actually had to report. Clark County has millions of people, so they call like 2500 at a time, and of those 2500, they require 500 to report in and then pick juries from there. I did not know that they use that 500 people to choose multiple juries (they split them into groups, it’s not like you’re dismissed but still have to stay.)
My husband served 2 days of jury selection last year, but was ultimately dismissed. My friend’s wife, however, spent just over 2 months on a notorious civil lawsuit that was settled out of court the day before closing arguments. She was incredibly frustrated.
I’d be so mad if I sat om a jury for 2 months and have it settled
She was not a happy lady. She’d just started a new job a week or so before jury selection started and while it didn’t jeopardize her position, it made the job difficult because she still had to do a lot of the work – either at night or on the weekends.
I was called twice in the 90’s one case was for a deaf man who was robbed for $2.00 so they had to have an interpreter which took forever to translate back and forth and the other was Grand Jury every Thursday for a month, our day was robbers and we had to vote if they were going to trial. I’ve moved to PA from NJ 6 yrs ago and so far haven’t been called I better stop writing about it or I’ll jinx myself LOL
Whenever my kids asked me about Santa, I’ve told them that as long as they believe in him, he is real. 🙂
They’re 11 and 18 now and they still get stockings and Santa gifts and at this point, they play along for my sake because I am so into Christmas and I love our family traditions. 🙂
That is so cute!
I think I stopped believing at 8. My mom started to slack the older I got.
I live in a small town so I get picked for jury duty at least once a year. We can’t bring any electronic devices and the have no tv. It’s so boring. One year I was picked to serve on a case. It was quite interesting and somewhat nerve wracking. The case took all afternoon and we came up with a verdict after about ten minutes. It was a slam dunk, but it was odd having to look at the criminal and realize you were sending him to prison for three years.
Oh my, that is so boring. Luckily they had a TON of stuff to do in the jury room. They even had board games. LOL.
I’m not sure how old she was, but my oldest was still a believer until she heard a comment from Martha Stewart saying he wasn’t real. I STILL hate her, some 20 years later, and won’t allow anything by her in the house. Evil woman!
Just had jury duty two weeks ago. Had to go in for one day so I got a little extra reading done. Same thing happened about 10 years ago. Then, a few years before that, you had to serve in person for a week. Did end up on a jury and that was awful. I basically hung the jury and got yelled at a lot. Not my fondest memory.
Shame on Martha!!!
In person for a week! Oh my!
I don’t have kids but I remember when I stopped believing in Santa. “Santa” brought me this wonderful art set in a purple book bag and the note looked just like my mom’s handwriting. I asked her about it and she tried to play it cool, but I totally figured it out. I wasn’t upset though, I actually thought it was kind of funny. Years later we were all sitting at the breakfast table and my dad asked if I stilled believed in Santa. I said no and he said, “Good, just checking.” Haha. I’m in my 20s now and we still do stockings and Santa gifts. Stockings are my favorite part of Christmas!
I’ve never been summoned for jury duty. My driver’s license still has my mom’s address so a notice would go to her house and I’m always nervous that I’ve been summoned and she hasn’t told me!
OMG LOL! I wonder if your Dad really thought you didn’t know!
None of my kids believe anymore. My son was being told since 2nd grade that there wasn’t a Santa and until last year we always told him that those that don’t believe will always feel that way, but the magic of Christmas was Santa. Last year (3rd grade) I guess it was getting hard for him to process so he asked my husband and I to have a “talk” and we knew what he was getting at. I printed up this letter I found about how there was a Santa once but now it was up to the parents to be Santa for their children now and how we are teaching them to keep the magic alive etc etc etc. He was a little stunned at first, then said “I knew it” and that was that. lol.
I got called for jury duty a couple of years ago for the first time. It ended up being a 4 day civil trial that was so incredibly boring that I had to be caff’ed up so my eyes didn’t roll around in my head. I wanted to be the best juror ever lol. During deliberations, I realized that a few people didn’t really care about the verdict, they wanted to get home because they had babysitters or a second job….ugh.
I am sure that lawyers get so annoyed when the jury is like that! At least you did your best!
1. I don’t have kids yet but I hope they believe for longer than I did. I found out when I woke up to my dad putting $1 under my pillow after I lost a tooth & just figured out the rest. I don’t remember if I was too upset or not. I was with my best friend when she found out & I remember her crying her eyes out. & yes Journey started playing in my head 😉
2. I’m only 23 so maybe that’s why I’ve never been called for jury duty, but then again I don’t know if my parents have ever been called either. I hope that I’m never called, but I probably just jinxed myself!
So funny I am behind on reading your blog and it turns out we were in jury duty the same day! It was my first time as well and I wasn’t selected for the 12 person jury so I got to leave at 10:30. Unfortunately I missed a day of work for it and my work doesn’t compensate for jury duty 🙁 but here in WA I think I will get $15 and travel time pay. The case wasn’t too interesting just a guy who violated a restraining order for the third time.