KAREN LENFESTEY, "Happy Endings with a Twist"
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Biography
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact Karen
  • Author Interview
  • Author Events
  • Treats for Mom blog

The End of the Tooth Fairy

4/9/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
The tooth fairy blew it last night. I went to bed early, so I put my husband in charge of playing the tooth fairy. At 1:30 a.m. he woke me up. Apparently, as he'd reached under the pillow, our daughter had bolted upright. He told me to go fix things. Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled down the hall to find my daughter staring at the doorway. I tiptoed out of the room.

The next morning, she placed the tiny tin box with her tooth on the kitchen table. "The tooth fairy didn't come," she said.

I'd just read an article that said by the end of elementary school, kids should no longer believe in such things. So, I decided to fish. "Why do you think she didn't come?"

"I don' t know."

"Do you think you're too old for the tooth fairy?"

"No."

"Hmm." I ate my breakfast and soon noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm mad that the tooth fairy didn't come."

Part of me had hoped this would be the end, but the tears changed my mind. She was a true believer and that was OK. "You know the tooth fairy forgot me once, too. I just had to put the tooth back under my pillow the next night."

I went to brush my teeth and when I returned she announced, "I thought I saw something in my room last night."

"A-ha! If you saw the tooth fairy, that's why she didn't stay. No one's supposed to see the tooth fairy."

"It kinda looked like Dad."

I thought about saying her dad was probably just checking in on her like he always does, but I was torn. I didn't want to keep pushing her to believe if she was old enough to know better. So, I just left for work. All day I thought about her tears and my heart ached. The end of the tooth fairy felt like the end of childhood to me. If she didn't believe in this, wasn't this the end of Santa and the Easter bunny too? I tried to remember how old I was when I figured it out. I remember placing a tooth under my pillow and purposely not telling my parents as a test. The next morning I knew. I was sad, but I never said a word to anyone. I certainly hadn't cried. Guilt set in. I'm pretty sure the test had come with one of my very last baby teeth, while my daughter still had plenty left. My husband called and said our daughter had pointed at him and announced, "You're the tooth fairy!" So, she wasn't crushed after all? I was confused.

That night she started talking about how she hoped the tooth fairy would come. I didn't know whether she was still a true believer or if she was playing me. If there was any chance her childhood innocence could be prolonged, I decided I wanted it to last.

Fearful that she would wake up again in the middle of the night, I snuck into her room after dinner. I put a dollar inside her tin box, removed the tooth, and feeling like a genius, put a tiny piece of plastic inside to rattle around. At bedtime, she started shaking the tin with eager anticipation. I should've told her to stop, but I didn't. Before I knew it, she opened the box and said, "Hey!" I played dumb. "Dad must've put this in here," she said. 

"I don't know. Why did you open it?"
"Because it stopped rattling." She ran to confront her dad, who had no idea what I had done. Finally, she went back to bed. I wasn't sure what to say, but my heart was heavy at what I'd done. I'd removed all doubt and ended the tooth fairy's reign.

"Well, at least I got a dollar," my daughter said with a smile.

Days later, I'm still thinking about this debacle. For some reason, the end of the tooth fairy hit me harder as an adult than it ever did when I was a child. I suspect the same will be true for my daughter. 

Do you remember how old you were when you found out about the tooth fairy?
​How old do you think is too old to still believe?

​


4 Comments
http://momactivity.com link
7/9/2016 05:27:22 am

Teeth are very important for kids. after seven years later they have perfect teeth but before this they use natural teeth. as you mention.

Reply
sean hurst thompson link
2/17/2019 02:51:11 am

hello I am not haapy about the tooth fairy not oming also I want the tooth fairy to ome but she has not come at least 3 nights I am not giing this up so I am bnot happy about the tooth fairy what is she doing she needs to ome the world need to look fopr her so she can ome

Reply
sean hurst thompson link
2/17/2019 02:48:46 am

hello my name is sean I am not happy abouit the tooth fairy has not ome for my tooth for at least 3 nights now and I am getting angry with this so that's the end I am going to keep on trying until she does come I am not going to end this sean please reply I hate the tooth fairy

Reply
Wandering Where is Waldo link
12/6/2020 06:57:37 pm

Appreciate your bloog post

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Contact Karen
    Picture
    Should Bethany track down the daughter she's never known just to give her bad news?
    Picture
    What event could make a woman second-guess her stance on motherhood?
    join karen's club

    Archives

    January 2024
    May 2019
    April 2016
    May 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advice
    Angelina Jolie
    Antenna
    Apo
    Appreciation
    Babies
    Band-aids
    Blog Hop
    Book Review
    Books
    Bribe
    Butterflies
    Cable
    Career
    Cat
    Charity
    Chick Lit
    Childhood
    Children
    Christmas
    Civil Rights
    Clue
    Cookies
    Cooking
    Crushes
    Crying
    Cutting The Cord
    Dads
    Date
    Daughter
    Daughters
    Diet
    Donut
    Duma
    Dvd
    Easy Recipes
    Ethics
    Fairies
    Family
    Family Film
    Fatherhood
    February
    Fiction
    First Love
    Free Book
    Fun
    Gambling
    Games
    Girls
    Grandchildren
    Grandmothers
    Gratitude
    Grumpy Cat
    Hero
    History
    Humor
    Ice Cream
    Interview
    Job
    Karate
    Kid Recipes
    Kids
    Kids Movies
    Kitten
    Kittens
    Las Vegas
    Las Vegas Strip
    Leadership
    Left-handed
    Losing
    Love
    Love-hate
    Magic
    Marriage
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Midwest Writer's Workshop
    Mixed Messages
    Mom
    Moms
    Monday
    Morals
    Motherhood
    Movies
    Murphy's Law
    Niagara Falls
    No
    Novella
    Novels
    Nutrition
    Oprah
    Oreos
    Parenthood
    Parenting
    Pets
    Philanthropy
    Reading
    Recipes
    Reward
    Riviera Hotel
    Role Model
    Romance
    SAHM
    Sal Dimiceli
    Santa
    Smoothie
    Snacks
    Sportsmanship
    Stay At Home Moms
    Stay-at-home Moms
    Student
    Summer
    Tae Kwon Do
    Teacher
    Teachers
    Tears
    Television
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    The Next Big Thing
    Titanic
    Tourism
    Tradition
    Treat
    Trips
    TV
    Vacation
    Vacations
    Valentine
    Valentines
    Vegas
    Vote
    Winning
    Women's Fiction
    Working Moms
    Writing

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.