As somewhat "typical" Christian parents, my husband and I decided early on that we wouldn't put a lot of emphasis on the imaginary holiday characters like Santa and the Easter Bunny. We're not super dogmatic about it, but we don't usually initiate or make a big deal out of them. If one of the boys brings up Santa Clause in conjunction with Christmas we don't jump down his throat, but we do tell them that St. Nicholas was a historical figure and that their gifts come from family and friends. Wow. We're fun, huh.
For me, however, there is one exception.
I love the tooth fairy. And, yes, I lie to my children and tell them the tooth fairy takes their teeth and leaves currency in exchange. I really get into, too. When they ask questions about this and that with the tooth fairy I make up all kinds of stories and well-known facts pertaining to our winged friend. It seems that I've gotten more into it with my younger two than our older two. When Joshua or Caleb would lose a tooth, I'd put money under their pillow, but let tham know that it was good ol' Mom and Dad and not some fictional nymph.
I don't know. Maybe I'm loosening up in my old age. I think when I was a newer parent I was more concerned about the "correct" way to parent and now I see the value or having fun with this stuff.
So Micah lost tooth #3 last night (with a little help from his father and some dental floss). Immediately, we discussed the techniques of exactly where to leave the tooth, how the tooth fairy will find it, and what her plans are for said tooth.
So I tucked my little darlings in with the mental reminder to give Micah some time to fall asleep and then do the switcheroo.
There was only one problem.
I totally forgot.
See, 24 was really good last night and I was folding mounds of laundry at the same time and... I just forgot. So at 6:30 this morning, a very panicked 7-year-old is standing by by bed whining, "I can't find my tooth!" I rolled over toward Matt and mouthed "Oh crap. I forgot," and then in the same breath, "Let me go look for it, bud. Sometimes she makes the money hard to find." I headed upstairs, first to my wallet and got a dollar out and went into the top bunk. He was right. I couldn't find the tooth either (I did find it later when I was making his bed). So I headed back down with the dollar and all was well with the world.
My husband told him, "You're lucky. When I was a little kid, I only had a quarter under my pillow."
Micah said, "When you put a little kid under your pillow, you get a quarter?"
So though I may not be the best tooth fairy in the world, I've decided to make the most of it with the teeth we have left. Micah has several more to go and Jacob hasn't lost any yet. I'm imagining the tooth fairy may leave them not just dollars but notes and glitter and whatever else I can come up with.
And next time, I will try really hard not to forget.
