Monday, March 06, 2006
The Tooth Fairy
posted by Mike
One of the great milestones for a child is the loss of his or her first tooth. My daughter Jessica (age six and a half) was excited about it from the moment she felt one starting to get loose, and over the course of several weeks it became a focal point of our family's attention. It got to the point where the tooth was hanging on for days, and Jessica was too timid to finish it off (or let me do it, for that matter). Then came Presidents Day weekend during which my mother was set to take her to Virginia overnight. My wife and I absolutely did not want to miss our first child losing her first tooth, so it was time to force the issue. The night before the trip, I finally convinced Jessica to let me fiddle with it and without too much work, voila! The tooth was out and we all celebrated.
Now, of course, it was time for the Tooth Fairy to make a visit. We put the tooth in a sealed plastic bag and Jessica put it under her pillow. Here's where Daddy messed up. Yes, I forgot to exchange the tooth for cash. But as fate would have it, I got lucky. Jessica woke up before 5:00 AM, which is unusual for her, and came into our bed. She was apparently fearful of the Tooth Fairy's visit (my daughter is terrified of characters, so this is probably along the same lines) and had some sort of nightmare about it. She told us that the Tooth Fairy hadn't come yet, and I replied that she got up too early so she'd better go back to bed. During the process of bringing her back to her room, I was able to snag a couple of bucks and stick them in my pocket. Jessica asked with me to lie with her for a few minutes and I obliged. Without her noticing, I reached into my pocket, took out the money and quietly exchanged it with the bagged tooth under her pillow. She never noticed.
A little while later she was in our room again and hadn't yet checked for the tooth. We let her stay in bed with us, and when it started getting light she went back to her room and found the money. She was under the impression that the Tooth Fairy had visited while she was in our room. Good enough...mission accomplished.
I certainly lucked out with this one. If Jessica had slept through the night as usual, it would have been a huge disappointment when she got up in the morning and found her tooth still there. I really don't know what I would have done. Fortunately, everything worked out and the magic of the Tooth Fairy still lives in our home.
posted by Mike
One of the great milestones for a child is the loss of his or her first tooth. My daughter Jessica (age six and a half) was excited about it from the moment she felt one starting to get loose, and over the course of several weeks it became a focal point of our family's attention. It got to the point where the tooth was hanging on for days, and Jessica was too timid to finish it off (or let me do it, for that matter). Then came Presidents Day weekend during which my mother was set to take her to Virginia overnight. My wife and I absolutely did not want to miss our first child losing her first tooth, so it was time to force the issue. The night before the trip, I finally convinced Jessica to let me fiddle with it and without too much work, voila! The tooth was out and we all celebrated.
Now, of course, it was time for the Tooth Fairy to make a visit. We put the tooth in a sealed plastic bag and Jessica put it under her pillow. Here's where Daddy messed up. Yes, I forgot to exchange the tooth for cash. But as fate would have it, I got lucky. Jessica woke up before 5:00 AM, which is unusual for her, and came into our bed. She was apparently fearful of the Tooth Fairy's visit (my daughter is terrified of characters, so this is probably along the same lines) and had some sort of nightmare about it. She told us that the Tooth Fairy hadn't come yet, and I replied that she got up too early so she'd better go back to bed. During the process of bringing her back to her room, I was able to snag a couple of bucks and stick them in my pocket. Jessica asked with me to lie with her for a few minutes and I obliged. Without her noticing, I reached into my pocket, took out the money and quietly exchanged it with the bagged tooth under her pillow. She never noticed.
A little while later she was in our room again and hadn't yet checked for the tooth. We let her stay in bed with us, and when it started getting light she went back to her room and found the money. She was under the impression that the Tooth Fairy had visited while she was in our room. Good enough...mission accomplished.
I certainly lucked out with this one. If Jessica had slept through the night as usual, it would have been a huge disappointment when she got up in the morning and found her tooth still there. I really don't know what I would have done. Fortunately, everything worked out and the magic of the Tooth Fairy still lives in our home.
# posted by Jawdy : 10:48 PM
