My seven year old has been nursing a loose tooth for about two months now. Every time I have looked in his mouth I have been disturbed by the little dangling participle. On several occasions I have offered to "take a look" or "just give it a little wiggle" hoping to pluck out the little sucker, but he has seen right through me every time and run away. Two nights ago my wife was out with her lady friends and I was having a "Daddy-night." As he brushed his teeth, I could see the thing dangling by a thread. I put to work a new strategy that goes something like this:
"Oh, man, what is that?!?"
"What, Daddy?"
"There's something right there. (point at mouth) Come a little closer.
"What is it?!?!"
"Here, I'll get it real fast." (Quickly snatch tooth)
This tooth would have come out of his mouth if I had breathed too hard. He didn't even notice until he saw it in my hand and started celebrating.
We got out the Tooth Fairy pillow and did the bedtime routine.
With the house put to bed, I went to my wallet to get a dollar, but (no surprise) it was empty. I made a mental note to ask my wife for a dollar when she got home.
A while later I told my wife that our son had lost a tooth, but I didn't have a dollar.
She replied, "Okay," and got a dollar out.
The Next Day...
(Screaming from the bedroom)
"Daddy, come here!!!!"
"What's wrong?"
"Daddy, it's terrible!!!" (At this point I am thinking he has lost a limb or at least discovered a limb in his bedroom.)
"The Tooth Fairy didn't come!!!!"
At this point my stomach dropped. Crap. My brain scanned back through the night and I realized that my wife had retrieved the dollar, but left it up to me to make the transaction. What to say? How did I recover from this to keep the cruel illusion alive?
"Sorry, pal, I guess she was really busy last night..."
He screams, "Curse you, Tooth Fairy!!!" from the bottom of his toes.
I managed to calm him by inserting a rule that if the Tooth Fairy missed a night, then she brought two dollars the next night. He then informed me that he would be hiding the tooth for 1500 days in order to receive $1500...
The Tooth Fairy came last night.
"Oh, man, what is that?!?"
"What, Daddy?"
"There's something right there. (point at mouth) Come a little closer.
"What is it?!?!"
"Here, I'll get it real fast." (Quickly snatch tooth)
This tooth would have come out of his mouth if I had breathed too hard. He didn't even notice until he saw it in my hand and started celebrating.
We got out the Tooth Fairy pillow and did the bedtime routine.
With the house put to bed, I went to my wallet to get a dollar, but (no surprise) it was empty. I made a mental note to ask my wife for a dollar when she got home.
A while later I told my wife that our son had lost a tooth, but I didn't have a dollar.
She replied, "Okay," and got a dollar out.
The Next Day...
(Screaming from the bedroom)
"Daddy, come here!!!!"
"What's wrong?"
"Daddy, it's terrible!!!" (At this point I am thinking he has lost a limb or at least discovered a limb in his bedroom.)
"The Tooth Fairy didn't come!!!!"
At this point my stomach dropped. Crap. My brain scanned back through the night and I realized that my wife had retrieved the dollar, but left it up to me to make the transaction. What to say? How did I recover from this to keep the cruel illusion alive?
"Sorry, pal, I guess she was really busy last night..."
He screams, "Curse you, Tooth Fairy!!!" from the bottom of his toes.
I managed to calm him by inserting a rule that if the Tooth Fairy missed a night, then she brought two dollars the next night. He then informed me that he would be hiding the tooth for 1500 days in order to receive $1500...
The Tooth Fairy came last night.
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