Mommy Doc Madness: Tooth Drama

Who knew that a tooth could cause so much drama . . . Last week, my two boys had a baseball game. Because many schools were still on spring break, my husband, who happens to be the coach, didn't even have enough boys to field a team. We had to borrow a player from the opposing team. Because so many folks were out of town, my husband also did not have a dugout coach. Guess who got volunteered? Now, I may have watched thousands of baseball games in my life, but I am not qualified nor skilled to be a dugout coach. Nonetheless, I found myself in the dugout trying to herd eight-year-old boys and keep them from flogging each other with the bats. The most entertaining part of the evening, however, to me was watching my husband obsess over my son's preoccupation with his tooth. Tyre had a loose tooth. He literally spent the entire game with his hands in his mouth. After being reprimanded several times for pulling on the tooth, he then resorted to putting his glove over his face so that he could wiggle the tooth with his other hand. It was hilarious. No less than 30 times, my husband said to him, "Get your hands out of your mouth." After the game, which was a close loss, we ran into Moe's to grab dinner. Remember, I still do not have a kitchen, and the kitchenless state is wearing on us. Standing in line to order our dinner, Tyre continued to fondle his tooth. Just at the moment we are about to order, out pops a bloody canine. You can imagine, it was lovely for everyone in line. Needless to say, we ordered our dinner to go and headed home. After scarfing down dinner and running the 3 younger kids through a shower, we scurried them off to bed. I then ran to pick up our oldest daughter, Trilla, who was at dance class.

One of the responsibilities we have bestowed upon our oldest daughter is the tooth fairy duty. Because she sleeps on the same floor with her younger siblings, it is easier for her to make the deposit than it is for her lumbering parents to go creaking up the stairs and wake everyone up. Furthermore, she goes to bed later than her brothers, so it makes more sense for her to be in charge. And, she loves it! The plan, however, failed miserably. Around 10:30 PM, my husband heard my oldest daughter sobbing upstairs. Apparently, she had slipped into her brother's room to make the tooth fairy deposit. Unfortunately, Tyre was not in his room but sleeping with his brother. She sneaked into the brother's room, kissed them both good night, made the deposit and then made her exit. Immediately upon returning to her room, she turned to see her brother standing in her doorway with his hands on his hips asking why in the world she was pretending to be the tooth fairy. She came up with some plausible story and shuffled him back to bed. She then went to the bathroom and came out to find him once again standing in her room holding the crumpled note he had written to the tooth fairy. My daughter thought she had gotten it out of his room without his knowledge. She was wrong. He held out the crumpled note with an outstretched hand, dropped it, (like the microphone drop in the Verizon commercials), rolled his eyes and handed her another note that said: "Nice try, Trilla!" He stomped back to bed, and Trilla burst into tears due to her tooth fairy failure. At this point, my husband heard drama and intervened. He went upstairs and convinced Tyre to get in bed with his other sister, Tattie. She was now awake, and had caught onto the dilemma. The new plan was to get him asleep, and then the younger sister would fix the tooth fairy fiasco. Tattie told him they would "lock Trilla out" so she could not pretend to be the tooth fairy. After he was completely asleep, the younger sister took the tooth, took the note, and replaced it with a nice crisp $20 bill. (The price of a tooth had gone up given all the drama . . . )

At breakfast, I innocently wished the boys good morning and asked Tyre if the tooth fairy had visited. He rolled his eyes and explained to me that his sisters had ruined the night because they were pretending to be the tooth fairy. I allowed him to tell me his version of the story. In his mind, the girls were trying to get his money and messed up the whole thing. I asked him if he still believed in the tooth fairy, and he said he seriously doubted it. I then suggested that perhaps the problem was that he was sleeping with his brother and his sisters knew that the tooth fairy would not visit if he was not in his own room. Maybe they were simply trying to help him out . . . He thought about that for minute and then exclaimed, "Well, it would've been nice if somebody told me that last night. I would have stayed in my own room!" So, I'm not sure if he's going to continue believe in the tooth fairy.

But, I do know that there is something precious in childhood innocence. He so wants to believe but is frustrated with reality. I think we are like that as humans in our faith. We want to believe that God is just, that God has a plan and purpose for our lives, that everything is going to be alright. Yet, sometimes, the events of our lives make us question. Kids believe easier than adults. But even kids question. In thinking about the tooth fairy drama last night, I pondered Jesus words:

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

And, I thought about the verse: "Now, faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 1:1-3)

I pray that I can strive to have this childlike faith always. And, I hope the tooth fairy visits our house a few more times!