Well Tayler lost her first tooth while we were in Boise a week and a half ago. The tooth had been dead (and gray) for weeks. I attempted on two occasions to pull it out, but Tayler is pain averse. When it finally fell out Tayler was ecstatic. She hasn't yet put it under her pillow because she wants to keep it.
We finally came up with a solution. We would write a note for the Tooth Fairy explaining how we wanted to keep the tooth, but still wanted money for it. So last night I wrote out the note. We only had a small piece of paper and if Tayler wrote the note in "almost first grader" font (which you can find at the very bottom of the font drop-down menu in most Microsoft products) we would need a whole page, and a bigger pillow. Tayler asked me to leave some room at the bottom for a picture. She drew a picture of the Tooth Fairy. The Fairy is carrying a bag of teeth (makes sense to me). She also added "I love you". Must feel good to be the Tooth Fairy.
Just as we were finishing the letter, Tayler asked me if I had ever written a similar note to the Tooth Fairy. I lied. "Oh yes, I wanted to keep my first tooth too". Tayler was reassured. Turns out, with five year olds, lying can sometimes be the best policy. As I reflected upon that lie, I remembered I have lied about the Tooth Fairy before.
As a 7 year old boy living in Germany, I stole (I still prefer to think of it as "borrowed") a $20 mark bill out of my mom's purse. I felt incredibly guilty for taking this unapproved loan and decided the best way to solve the problem was to buy my mom something with it. I might have been a lying little crook, but I was still incredibly generous, a "Robin Hood" complex I guess. So I went to this little German gift shop on the corner and purchased a porcelain horse for my mom. (Of course I kept the change. After all, I was a very generous son who deserved a little extra.) I was so excited to give it to her that it didn't even occur to me she might be suspicious as to the source of funding for the purchase.
Sure enough, she thanked me and then immediately asked where I got the money. Thank goodness I was quick on my feet. I grasped for the only source of money I could think of that couldn't be verified or traced and had absolutely no tie to my parents whatsoever, "the Tooth Fairy left it for me". Nice. Solid. Undisputable alibi. (Granted, this was about forty times the going rate for a tooth when I was seven, but hey, maybe the Tooth Fairy really liked me--how would my parents know the difference???)
So I guess I'm still a liar. About the Tooth Fairy anyway. At least I'm not a crook anymore (Just don't tell Jess I "borrowed" a dollar out of her purse last night. I have a tooth to pay for that I don't even get to keep.)
We finally came up with a solution. We would write a note for the Tooth Fairy explaining how we wanted to keep the tooth, but still wanted money for it. So last night I wrote out the note. We only had a small piece of paper and if Tayler wrote the note in "almost first grader" font (which you can find at the very bottom of the font drop-down menu in most Microsoft products) we would need a whole page, and a bigger pillow. Tayler asked me to leave some room at the bottom for a picture. She drew a picture of the Tooth Fairy. The Fairy is carrying a bag of teeth (makes sense to me). She also added "I love you". Must feel good to be the Tooth Fairy.
Just as we were finishing the letter, Tayler asked me if I had ever written a similar note to the Tooth Fairy. I lied. "Oh yes, I wanted to keep my first tooth too". Tayler was reassured. Turns out, with five year olds, lying can sometimes be the best policy. As I reflected upon that lie, I remembered I have lied about the Tooth Fairy before.
As a 7 year old boy living in Germany, I stole (I still prefer to think of it as "borrowed") a $20 mark bill out of my mom's purse. I felt incredibly guilty for taking this unapproved loan and decided the best way to solve the problem was to buy my mom something with it. I might have been a lying little crook, but I was still incredibly generous, a "Robin Hood" complex I guess. So I went to this little German gift shop on the corner and purchased a porcelain horse for my mom. (Of course I kept the change. After all, I was a very generous son who deserved a little extra.) I was so excited to give it to her that it didn't even occur to me she might be suspicious as to the source of funding for the purchase.
Sure enough, she thanked me and then immediately asked where I got the money. Thank goodness I was quick on my feet. I grasped for the only source of money I could think of that couldn't be verified or traced and had absolutely no tie to my parents whatsoever, "the Tooth Fairy left it for me". Nice. Solid. Undisputable alibi. (Granted, this was about forty times the going rate for a tooth when I was seven, but hey, maybe the Tooth Fairy really liked me--how would my parents know the difference???)
So I guess I'm still a liar. About the Tooth Fairy anyway. At least I'm not a crook anymore (Just don't tell Jess I "borrowed" a dollar out of her purse last night. I have a tooth to pay for that I don't even get to keep.)
1 comment:
Great post Sean!!
The toothfairy at our house has "her" own stationary that "she" leaves!!
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