The Tooth Fairy and Maximillian's Wisdom

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The Power of the Tooth

As mentioned in my yesterday’s blog, Iz lost her third baby tooth. Of course, as always with kids, there was always a major issue surrounding any event. Iz’s was that she had lost her tooth somewhere at school; when I picked her up at the after school program, she began to fret about not having a tooth to put under pillow that night.

Quick-thinking is definitely a needed parental attribute. I said, “Oh, that’s not a problem.” She looked at me hopefully.

I told her that it was perfectly okay to put a picture of a tooth under your pillow. Teeth were so small, especially baby teeth, that the Tooth Fairy expected such mishaps like losing or even swallowing one. I was spinning such a good tale, I felt like I had the Tooth Fairy on my speed dial due to our daily conversations in which she divulged all of Tooth Fairy, Inc.’s operating procedures to me.

When Iz and I got home, it was clear to see what was on her agenda; it was replacing her lost tooth. In about 5 minutes, we were on my laptop googling for “tooth” pictures. Of course, Iz’s reaction to each one was “Ewwwww.”

After viewing incisors, canines, premolars, and molars, we selected a very nice canine. I think it was a canine, though I’m better with the canines that live in a house and not in one’s mouth. After printing out our canine, Iz took the picture and a pair of scissors and went into her room.

After hearing silence for 5 minutes, which could potentially mean trouble when you have a 7-year-old, I said, “Iz?” She said, “Whaaaaaat?” I asked her what she was doing, and she said, like I was quite stupid, “I’m writing my letter to the Tooth Fairy, Mom!”

I told her to continue, and after another 5 minutes of silence, she came out of her room empty-handed. I asked, “Where’s your letter?” She said, “Under my pillow with my tooth.”

I asked, “Can I read it?” She glared at me and said, “No! I asked for something, and if you read it, it won’t come true.” I said, “Okay,” knowing, like any other parent, I’d sneak a peek after she fell asleep!

And so I did…

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I wish by tomow I could have powers like you if you don’t that’s ok because I don’t want mony instead of mony I want powers.

After I read it, I was thinking, “Powers?” Did she want to be able to change Plume into a real-life sister, or did she want to make Nathan’s X-box malfunction when he refused her admittance into his room. As the Tooth Fairy, I could empower Iz, and so I did.

Of course, I was not any Tooth Fairy. I wrote letters and was somewhat creative about it. I downloaded a tooth font, and in a few minutes, I had my letter to Iz.

Dear Iz,
Thank you for your tooth. I will find the real one at school.
You already have special powers. They are kindness and love.
I love you, Iz.

Of course, I got up at 5:30 this morning to prepare for my interview. Iz woke up at 5:30 to see what the Tooth Fairy had left her. My nervous stomach wished for a moment that I was Iz.

The door to her room opened with a bang. “Mommy, look what the Tooth Fairy left me.” The Tooth Fairy had been quite generous; it wasn’t a pony, but it was $10 and a Sephora gift card, which I think is a close second to a pony when you are a 7-year-old.

I asked, “Do you think she found your tooth at school?” Iz said, “She said she did in the letter. And, um, she woke me up and talked to me, too!” Iz then paused and decided to go with a good story saying, “When she woke me up, she was wearing a pink-gold dress. She had blonde curly hair. Then I met all her friends. Oh, no, I just met Crystal. But she told me about her other friends, Chloe, Jade, Sasha, and Jasmine. [ed., I don’t think it was a coincidence that those all sounded like the names of potential competitors on America’s Next Top Model.] One girl didn’t have a name, so they named her Jean. There was a boy named Nathan and another named Eric, and they were all going to a party. Isn’t that cool?” I agreed, and I knew that besides being kind, my daughter was also a born story teller.

I asked, “So, what did her letter say?” She said, “I really shouldn’t tell you,” and then looked at me like telling me would breach the non-disclosure agreement she had signed with the Tooth Fairy. Then, deciding that perhaps I had the appropriate security clearance, she said in just above a whisper, “I have powers.”

I said, “You do? What kind?” Again, she hesitated and said, “I have the power to make people happy, because I’m kind!” I said, “You do. You are a very powerful and wonderful girl, Iz, and that’s the truth.” ♥

Wisdom Without the Teeth

After my interview today, which I thought went well, I picked up Nathan at school. Out of the blue, he asked, “Mom, were you there when I fell asleep in the oral surgeon’s office?”
“No. I left, remember?”
“I only remember the doctor telling me I’d begin to feel drunk.”
“I kissed you on the forehead and then left to go to the waiting room.”
“I don’t remember any of that!”
“Oh, good, because when I left, the doctor slipped me $500 for all those scientific experiments that he was going to perform on you while you were unconscious.
Nathan groaned.
“Seriously, when I say the magic word, you should start to furiously itch your entire body!”
Just then I shouted “Maximilian! Maximilian! Maximilian!” at him.
Nathan rolled his eyes.
I said, “Not even a scratch?”
Nathan sighed.
I said, “Oops. I see that experiment didn’t work.”
Not wanting me to get the better of him, Nathan pulled out his “Remind Mom She Doesn’t Have a Job” card by saying, “Mom, when I’m rich and famous, you can work for me, okay?”
Before I could say anything and perhaps sensing the look forming on my face, Nathan caught himself and said, “Oh, yeah. You already do a lot for me.”
I said, “That’s what parenthood is all about, Maximilian! Anything? A little itch on your nose perhaps?”
And, we both laughed. ♥

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