Done with the Easter Bunny already?

As the kids and I were eating dinner tonight, John says to me, "The Easter Bunny isn't real. You're the Easter Bunny." I had a hard time not smiling and admitting to the job, but instead I managed to ask "Why do you think that? Did someone tell you that?" He wouldn't say that anyone told him this mysterious fact, but he said that he thought I went out late and night and bought the candy and gave them to all the kids (so I was not only our Easter Bunny, I've become everyone's Easter Bunny), because the Easter Bunny doesn't have any money, so how could he buy candy at the store! Now, this is all interesting logic and didn't seem to spread to the Santa phenomenon. But he was pretty sure about this Easter Bunny business.

I'm not sure I convinced him, but I didn't blatantly lie either. It's all such a fine line. This was the first time he has questioned us on this fact, so I'm sure it will come up more in the future. But I'm also thinking this came up as a result of playing with some older kids today at the playground. They were all kind of bragging at one point about what big kid things they have done already and at several points they were off playing out of earshot when one of them could have slipped in a little doubt about the Easter Bunny. I guess it's all part of the process of growing up, but I wasn't quite ready to have him start questioning some of the best parts of childhood.

Guess I'd better go so I can start counting money to buy the candy for all the children next Easter! ;-)