My sister-in-law has a 9-year old daughter. Like many parents, she has been playing Tooth Fairy for most of her daughter's life, swapping out cash for teeth in the middle of the night. And, of course, there have been the occasional panic-swaps when mom forgot until the child was actually waking up, and the cash had to be slipped under the pillow in the middle of a Good Morning Hug.
Well, the most recent tooth-swap was of the last variety. Mom actually forgot entirely until it was pointed out by the child that the Tooth Fairy didn't show. Mom made up some slick cover, suggested that maybe the cash slipped down between the bed and wall in the middle of the night, or some other fib, but she managed to pull off a last minute swap. However, she was left with the tooth to be hidden in the middle of showering, dressing and getting ready to head out the door (for which these two lovely folks are always running late). So, she stashed it in one of the bathroom drawers.
Some days later, child finds tooth and demands an explanation from mom. Mom pulls the tried-and-true "what do you think" tactic, and daughter comes back with "You are the Tooth Fairy!" Not that mom has been playing "tooth fairy" for daughter all of these years, but that
mom is THE Tooth Fairy for every child on the planet, and she's running around all night swapping out cash for teeth for every child who has lost a tooth the previous day. Which explains why mom is so tired all of the time.
Now, I'm not telling this story to start a debate about whether or not we should be lying to our children and leading them to believe in traditional fictitious characters, or to start up a discussion about the Tooth Fairy. I just wanted to share, because I thought it was really funny. But as an aside, I certainly don't want to be around when this particular strong-willed daughter is finally completely dis-illusioned about the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Angels and/or God. It will not be pretty!
