A Little Moxie, A Little Mischief: Tooth Fairy Treasures

My 7-year-old finally lost his first tooth about a week and a half ago. Since I felt like his peers have been losing teeth for a couple of years now, I eventually gave up waiting around and rarely thought about this milestone. To say it caught me off guard when it finally did happen is an understatement. The tooth fell out during school and was sent home in a little envelope. My husband notified me of the event via text while I was at work. It was a busy work day, and I hardly had time to acknowledge the text, much less consider following through on any sort of Tooth Fairy plans. I got home from work at 9:00 pm that night, and while I rushed to get the kids showered and ready for bed, I feverishly racked my brain trying to figure out how to pull off the whole Tooth Fairy  thing. Working with kids on a daily basis gives me a lot of insight into what's trending these days. Word in the therapy office, amongst most of my clients, is that teeth are going for an average of $10-$20 a pop, and that is not exclusive to just first teeth. Say, what?! These kids are racking up! I was lucky to find a dollar under my pillow back in the day, and I didn't think things had changed that much.

I didn't know exactly what the dollar rate on teeth would be in my house, but it definitely wasn't going to be $20. That night, I found a random $5 bill in the depths of my wallet, threw it in an envelope and used some markers to make it look semi-presentable. I included a joke from the fairy about my son snoring while he sleeps. It was the best I could do last minute. The next morning he appeared unimpressed by the $5 but laughed hysterically at the thought of the Tooth Fairy  noting that he snores.  I realized that although my kid likes to earn money, what he really likes, more than anything in the world, is the unexpected and the unusual. The kid loves a surprise, and money was not a surprise.

When my kiddo lost his second tooth a mere 4 days later, I was prepared. I grabbed a small glass jar and a handful of gemstones from my childhood collection. The next morning, when he woke up, my kiddo was happy to discover his tooth was gone and the Tooth Fairy had instead left a beautiful gift on his bedside table. He thought it was the coolest thing ever! And with that, it was determined that the tooth fairy would no longer leave money, because these gifts of little teeth are too precious to put a price tag on. Instead, the Fairy will leave a little piece of her magic behind in exchange. My son, who happens to know the real deal about the Easter Bunny and Santa, has no doubts about the existence of this feisty little tooth collecting fairy. After discovering his gift, he turned to me wide-eyed with excitement and wondered what treasure she would bring next. When he proudly showed his sisters his treasure, my 4-year-old immediately began to run her fingers along her teeth check for potential looseness. Her disappointment at all her teeth being in-tact was short lived and the kiddos began to rattle off potential gifts that may be fond next. Needless to say, our house is buzzing with excitement and wonder about when our fairy friend will visit next.

I gave myself major mom points for my flash of brilliance, and a pat on the back for saving myself many trips to the bank for actual cash.