Friday, September 12, 2008

And then the tooth fairy fluttered away...

Tooth fairy, Santa Claus, what to do???

It’s the age old question that seems to cross every parent’s mind at one point or another. Do I let my kids believe in these precious little gems of childhood or do I tell them from the start that it’s just folklore and rob them of the childhood imagination, while at the same time sparing them from feeling deceived….uggh.

Well, in our case, Donn and I both grew up “believing” so it seemed like an easy decision to get excited about the tooth fairy’s arrival after Ayden lost his first tooth. We put the tooth in an envelope.. left a little note for the fairy and anxiously awaited lifting the pillow the next morning to find what gem the tooth fairy had left. It was really a precious memory.

And then tooth number 2 fell out…

We repeated the “exercise” and lifted the pillow with bright smiles and anticipation yet again.

And then tooth number 3 fell out…

By that time, the anticipation was clearly not as exciting for Mommy, because it wasn’t until 5am that I realized I had forgotten my 'duties.' I jumped up from bed to grab some cash and stealth fully slid it under Ayden’s sleeping head. Crisis averted and we lifted the pillow in anticipation yet again.

And then tooth number 4 fell out…

This time, Ayden came home from school carrying a tooth and claiming that his friend said the tooth fairy wasn’t real.

“Mom, is that true? Are you just the tooth fairy?”

GULP…

“Why do you say that Ayden?”

“Because my friend says that you’re the tooth fairy and you just stick money from your wallet under my pillow.”

“Really…what do you think Ayden?” (Of course, I’m completely unsure of what to say at this point.)

“I think the tooth fairy is real. I’ll put my tooth under my pillow again and if she leaves money then I’ll believe.”

Slightly cringing now as I wonder if I’ve scarred my child for life…I smile and move on with our day.

Later that evening, I tucked Ayden into bed and said prayers. I then scampered downstairs to enjoy my few hours of ‘freedom’.

You got it…

5:11am

Ayden walks into my room and all I could see through my tired eyes was a child.

“Who is it,” I asked.

“It’s Ayden.” He responded.

Assuming Ayden had a bad dream; I reached for the blanket and threw a pillow on the floor.

“Just sleep right there,” I stated as I flopped my head back onto my pillow.

AND THEN MY MIND WOKE UP.

“OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!! I never put the money under his pillow!” My mind began racing as I figured out my battle plan.

It’s okay, I’ll just wait until Ayden falls back asleep and then I’ll sneak upstairs and leave it under his pillow. It’s not like he noticed yet anyway. No big deal. I’ve got this covered.

“Mom.”

Gulp.

“What Ayden?”

“Mom, I know the tooth fairy isn’t real. She never even came! She just left my dumb tooth in the envelope under my pillow.”

Mind racing now……….stink, he noticed!

“Ayden, look how dark it is outside. It's still night…I’m sure she’ll be here. Just go to sleep.”

A few minutes later…

“Mom, I’ve got to go! If I’m not in my bed she won’t leave the money! I’ve got to go!”

“No, Ayden"…I reasoned. "Just stay here…she’ll figure it out.”

(Of course all the while I’m thinking that if he goes back up to his bed, I’ll never know if it’s safe for me to sneak in.)

“Mom, I need to go!” He shouts as he runs out the bedroom door.

Great…now this is really a mess.

And so, what is a Mom supposed to do?

Option 1: Devastate the kid by letting him know that there is in fact no tooth fairy (which will mean a grumpy sad kid all day at school) or

Option 2: Claim tooth fairy negligence and perpetuate the lie, I mean folklore, a bit longer.

I am slightly ashamed to admit that I opted for door number 2.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed the nearest dollar coin and stuck it right under the pillow that was still lying on my floor where Ayden had been.

This morning when Ayden awoke he immediately began groaning about how the tooth fairy isn’t real and how she didn’t even move the envelope under his pillow.

I listened to some of the complaints and then nonchalantly stated,

“Gee, I wonder if you confused her by moving around so much.”

At that moment Ayden shot like a dart back to my bedroom and lifted the pillow from the floor.

“Great he said…she is real! I really don’t get how she could be so confused though…I mean, come on, I only moved once!”

What do you think???

How many counselors will I need to straighten my poor kiddo out after this one?

Who came up with the idea of the stupid tooth fairy anyway?!

Thanks so much!:)

3 comments:

E said...

That is a great story! I can just imagine you running around the house trying to figure out the tooth fairy thing! Miss you!

Anonymous said...

I cannot tell you HOW MANY TIMES I had to slip the money in at the last second -- once I even put it inside the pillowcase after Katy was devasted that the tooth fairy forgot!! ~whew~ managed to avert that disaster until the next tooth. Sigh. Motherhood is sometimes very hard.

nanadar said...

OK, Cyn, now we'll ask the question, "how many mom's still have those teeth??" Can you believe that in a little plastic box, this "tooth fairy" still has some 25 + yr. old teeth. Why you might ask? Who knows. I suppose unless I presume to put little screws into them for extras someday, I should dispose of them....