Holiday Worries

Ever since we put up the Christmas tree, Sam has greeted it after a long absence (ie: bedtime, or a nap, or even an extended shopping trip) with an exuberant "Mom! Look! The Christmas tree is still here!"
I really didn't know why she always seemed so surprised by that, but she did it several times.
Finally, the other night Daniel was gone and Sam was just sitting at the kitchen table talking to me while she made a mess out of her dinner. After thinking for a few minutes, she sighed and said "Mom? So, when does the Grinch come to take our stuff?"

We had watched the Grinch over Thanksgiving week. All of a sudden, I understood why she was so relieved and happy that the tree was still standing each time she came back. I quickly assured her that the Grinch was just pretend, and even in the story the Grinch became nice and gave the stuff back.
She hasn't been surprised to see the tree still standing since.
I just realized, it must be really hard and stressful to be two. I guess adults don't have a monopoly on holiday worries, imagine just sitting at home waiting for a green bad guy to come into your home uninvited and take your tree as if it were completely inevitable. Poor kid.
Now if I could just make the idea of Santa Claus sound less creepy for her...