About a month ago, Austin had a loose tooth ... the kind that was barely hanging on, begging to be removed. I wanted to pull it. It would have required almost no effort for me to do it, but he got nervous and didn't want me to. He hasn't had any horrible "tooth losing" history or anything. We've never tied a tooth to a string attached to a doorknob or car bumper. I haven't tricked him by telling him I'd only wiggle it while I was actually planning to yank it out. I don't know exactly why he felt so nervous about it. (Maybe it has something to do with being afraid of getting "big" ... I mentioned that in a previous blog.)
Daddy didn't really help my efforts at all. He was on Austin's side. He said I should just leave it alone. It wasn't bothering anything to leave it in. Well, that's not actually true ... it was bothering me. It was so loose it blew in the breeze of his breath when he talked. I wanted to pull it so Austin could eat more easily and so that I wasn't watching it flap in the wind. We went back and forth for a few minutes. I left the tooth alone, against my better judgement and desire.
So, with Austin nearly done with his lunch, he exclaimed, "my tooth is gone!" He was very excited. Yeah! See, Mommy, you didn't need to pull it. It would come out when it was ready!! I said, "good for you! Let me see it." (You know where I'm going with this, right?) He didn't know where the tooth was, and he didn't know exactly when he lost it ... and by exactly when, I mean in exactly which bite. Austin had eaten his tooth. Seriously. He ate the thing. Apparently, my son doesn't chew his food very well, or just isn't very discerning while eating. He did say that he felt something hard in his mouth while he was eating ... and, rather than take it out of his mouth to see what it was, he just swallowed it. Nice!
So, nearly a month later, Austin still hasn't written a note to the tooth fairy to explain what happened ... and the tooth fairy hasn't visited yet. She's still waiting for the letter ... and she'll feel really vindicated if the note includes something along the line of "I should have let my Mommy pull that tooth. She knows what she's talking about." But, as most tooth fairies know, those admissions don't come very often ... and especially not in writing!!
Showing posts with label tooth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tooth. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Rites of passage
I'm having so much fun watching my kids grow up, little by little. And I'm learning so much along the way.
I found the infant stage to be sweet in a lot of ways, but more than that, I enjoy my kids as they're getting bigger ... being independent (able to feed and dress themselves
), developing opinions and a sense of humor, learning about the world and the people in it. This is what's really exciting to me as a parent. The ideas they conjure up, the plans they make, the stories and pictures they create, the new adventures and experiences for them ... are just a wondrous opportunity for me to see the world as I want it to be--innocent, exciting, simple, colorful, full of possibility.
To an adult, the idea of losing a tooth is mundane, even trite, but to a 6 year old it's monumental. It represents an important rite of passage, the exciting process of becoming "big". For some kids, that's a scary idea. The fear of the unknown can be overwhelming sometimes--for those of us in the adult world, too. For others, it's downright exhilarating. These changes represent a world full of possibility, opportunities for happiness and fun.
Each of these new "sacraments of youth" serves as a reminder for me to put things into perspective. As I enter into uncharted territory or am dealing with events in my life that are stressful, frustrating, challenging, daunting or scary, I need to remember that these are all just part of this life of change ... this process of becoming "big" ... my own rites of passage. With each of these new adventures and adjustments--whether big or small, exciting or nerve-racking--comes the possibility and opportunity for good things to happen--happiness, growth and fun ... and maybe, just maybe, the chance to meet the tooth fairy!
A girl can dream!
I found the infant stage to be sweet in a lot of ways, but more than that, I enjoy my kids as they're getting bigger ... being independent (able to feed and dress themselves
), developing opinions and a sense of humor, learning about the world and the people in it. This is what's really exciting to me as a parent. The ideas they conjure up, the plans they make, the stories and pictures they create, the new adventures and experiences for them ... are just a wondrous opportunity for me to see the world as I want it to be--innocent, exciting, simple, colorful, full of possibility.To an adult, the idea of losing a tooth is mundane, even trite, but to a 6 year old it's monumental. It represents an important rite of passage, the exciting process of becoming "big". For some kids, that's a scary idea. The fear of the unknown can be overwhelming sometimes--for those of us in the adult world, too. For others, it's downright exhilarating. These changes represent a world full of possibility, opportunities for happiness and fun.
Each of these new "sacraments of youth" serves as a reminder for me to put things into perspective. As I enter into uncharted territory or am dealing with events in my life that are stressful, frustrating, challenging, daunting or scary, I need to remember that these are all just part of this life of change ... this process of becoming "big" ... my own rites of passage. With each of these new adventures and adjustments--whether big or small, exciting or nerve-racking--comes the possibility and opportunity for good things to happen--happiness, growth and fun ... and maybe, just maybe, the chance to meet the tooth fairy!
A girl can dream!
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