Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rite of Passage



The first lost tooth.

All the other kids retell their stories--of teeth lost, found, swallowed and mysteriously disappeared.

And they explain about the Tooth Fairy, and why it is that she hasn't come yet.

She has always been a forgetful fairy. Many a morning a child of ours has awakened, hopefully reaching under the pillow for a pile of change, only to find the white envelope, untouched, toothy bump still palpable.

She gets lost, you know. That's what we've always blamed those disappointments on.

"She's getting old," I explain. "She's never been very good with maps. She probably took a wrong turn and ended up in Ohio--maybe at your grandparents' house, by mistake. She gets pretty confused."

And now she has a new excuse: "Well, we've moved. She's never been here before. It'll probably take a few nights before she can find us."

We haven't meant to forget. But we've been staying up far too late with the Olympics, and it's just slipped our minds at bedtime.

Poor Chicklet. She's had several disappointing mornings already.

(Start 'em young, I always say. Set those expectations reeeeaaaalllll low.)

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to stick a handful of change under a certain almost six-year-old's pillow.

Because I can't wait to see that pretty little gap-toothed smile in the morning!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aaawwww. What a little sweetie! Who can resist that little face. And you, J, you crack me up :-)

Heather said...

She's adorable. What's the going rate for a first tooth?

elaine@bloginmyeye said...

toofunny! (sorry!)

At A Hen's Pace said...

Heather,

Oh, mostly shiny pennies and nickels; we throw in a couple dimes and quarters to fill out the pile.

She gives up to $2 in change for older kids who can actually count it.

:)

Jeanne

Anne said...

Just posted on this. heh

Gabi said...

Awww- congrats! What a beautiful picture :)

Margaret Cloud said...

Well forgetting is a lot better than getting caught putting the change under the pillow, like I did.