The Tooth Fairy

 

Image courtesy of Flickr

 

The summer of 2010 was a busy summer for my youngest son Hayden. It was a summer filled with many firsts. He learned how to ride his two-wheel bike—without the training wheels. He learned how to swim in the deep end—without a life jacket. He learned how to blow a bubble (bubble gum). He learned how to whistle. He lost his first, and second, baby teeth.

Considering how animated and energized Hayden was—and still is—most of the time, he is also a very relaxed, go-with-the-flow kind of child. That summer, while we were visiting with friends in Montreal, the kids were eating corn on the cob while the adults were catching up on five years’ worth of stories. Hayden casually pushed his chair away from the table and walked over to me by the couch where I was sitting.

“Did you find my tooth?” he asked. He asked this question much in the same way that one might ask for another glass of milk.

“You lost a tooth?” I queried incredulously as I leaped up off the couch. I was stunned. His tooth had only started to wiggle the day before.

“Yeah,” Hayden giggled. “See?” He gave me a wide grin as he pointed to the toothless gap in the middle-bottom row.

In a flash there were eight people, on hands and knees, scouring the kitchen floor for one tiny baby tooth.

“Found it!” yelled ten-year old Samantha excitedly. Samantha’s father has been friends with my husband since their teenage years. Mini crisis averted.

Hayden didn’t put his tooth under his pillow that night. His tooth had been with him for most of his life. Hayden told me that he needed a day to say goodbye to his tooth because it had become like a friend to him. He said he would place the tooth under his pillow the very next night for the Tooth Fairy.

The next day, as we took in the sites in and around the Old Port of Montreal, a great debate raged between Hayden and his sister Ava who was eight years old at the time. What if the Tooth Fairy visited last night only to find no tooth under Hayden’s pillow? If so, would the Tooth Fairy be able to fit in the time for a return visit? Since we’re vacationing in Montreal, and Hayden wasn’t sleeping in her own bed, would the Tooth Fairy be able to even find Hayden? The questions were flying all afternoon.

Before he climbed into bed, Hayden asked me to help him write the Tooth Fairy a letter. It went like this:

“Dear Tooth Fairy,

Do you have helper tooth fairies? Like if you have a lot of work, do they also help?

How big are you? What is your name? Do you have any pets?

Thank you for answering my questions yesterday.

Love,

Hayden

PS: I love you!”

Much to everyone’s relief, the Tooth Fairy visited Hayden and, to his delight, the Tooth Fairy left a note that went like this:

“Dear Hayden,

I only have helpers when I am sick. If I have a bad cold, I might sneeze and accidently wake up a sleeping child.

I am about three inches tall. Some people think that I am tall and some people think that I am small.

My name is Flora which is short for Fluoride. Not many people know my name but, since you asked, I thought I would tell you.

I love pets but I don’t have any of my own. They would be left alone for too long each night as I fly around the world visiting sleeping children who have lost their teeth.

Love,

The Tooth Fairy (Flora)

PS: I love you too!”

Living life through the eyes of a five-year old? Priceless.

~ Anita

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