My life is one long adventure, and I've got many stories to tell. I remember most of the big events and moments but some of the everyday snippets of life get lost in all the chaos. When I had my first child, I kept track of all his milestones and sp...
As soon as I got home from work yesterday Ella proudly announced that one of her teeth fell out during gym class at school. I didn't even know she had a wiggly tooth but indeed it was that time again - she's keeping track of what I'm not. She also remembers how much money she got from the tooth fairy for each tooth - clearly these moments are important to her. This is apparently her 7th baby tooth to fall out. For my first, Matthew, I would have known this but this is one more everyday moment that keeps getting lost in the shuffle.
So as she's talking about putting her tooth under her pillow tonight for the tooth fairy and telling me her hopes for how much money she'll be left this time, in my mind I'm mentally checking my wallet to remember if I have any cash, and at the same time making a mental note to take care of business after she goes to bed. As she's talking about this, she asks me if the Tooth Fairy is real?... I guess after she lost her tooth she was telling her friends about what she was going to do but her friend told her that there was no Tooth Fairy and it was your mom or dad that left the money.
I was somewhat caught off guard but it was not completely unexpected. Ella is now 7 and up until this point has never questioned this. My first reaction and response to her question was to deny that mom or dad were responsible for leaving her the money and that the tooth fairy does in fact exist. I told her that everyone has their own beliefs and she is free to believe what she wants. I'm pretty sure this was probably not the best way to address this - I never had to address this with Matthew, currently 10, who I'm 95% certain no longer believes in the Tooth Fairy and similarly Santa. He just goes along with it and I think he's already talked to his friends about this - but at this point I'm just grateful that he's not bursting the bubble for his brother and sister who are still so excited about these types of things.
In the evening we baked some cookies and stayed up way past bedtime decorating these cookies - I asked my husband to put the kids to bed so I could finish up and clean up the mess. Ella goes through her bedtime routine and I overhear her tell her dad that she's got her tooth ready in a pouch under her pillow. I make another mental note to take care of business (ie. leave money) before I head to bed...
The next morning just before 7am I'm still half asleep but hear the kids get up (yup, it's the weekend and they are up before I even have to wake them up) but I try to go back to sleep knowing they will just start playing but will be waking me up soon... And it's now that Ella comes to me in my room with her pouch and sadly tells me that the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night! My first reaction is cursing in my head, then I panic and mentally kick myself for forgetting to do this one little thing before bed! I then proceed to try and wake my brain up to think of an excuse as to why the Tooth Fairy didn't visit last night and the best I could think of at the moment was that she didn't put her tooth in an envelope with her name and addressed to the Tooth Fairy (which is what she normally has been doing but for some reason put her tooth in a small pouch yesterday). I tell her she should try again tonight and tell her to make sure she puts in into an envelope this time... Ella is sleeping now and I've just taken care of business! I can now go to sleep in peace but know that I'll be woken up in the morning by Ella excitedly showing me what the Tooth Fairy has brought her. For all the excitement she gets from all of this I'm hoping we will be able to keep the magic alive a little longer for her.
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Today after what happened and from her question yesterday about whether the Tooth Fairy is real or not, I'm still thinking about her question and struggling with my answer. I feel bad that I've lied to her, but at the same time don't want to burst her bubble just yet. I'm also thinking about my youngest Benjamin, currently 5, who has not lost any teeth yet. He has been patiently waiting to get his first wiggly tooth and has been telling me for a couple months that he's actually got a wiggly tooth (which is not really the case yet - I've checked) and that he's going to get a visit from the Tooth Fairy soon. I would hate to ruin the magic for him - he is so excited that one day the Tooth Fairy will also pay him a visit. I will now be thinking of how I'm going to address this question the next time it comes up - whether it's about the Tooth Fairy (or Santa) and hopefully will be able adequately reveal the truth to my older kids while keeping the magic alive for my youngest. If anyone has any experience with this type of situation would love to hear - please leave a comment!
