But the Tooth Fairy - now there's a rockin' job. As Tooth Fairy you are: pretty, sparkly, tiara wearing, wand brandishing and loaded with cash flow. It's simple work; staring in awe at your sleeping child, which I believe is one of the most beautiful sights on Earth. You also get a keepsake; an adorable little piece of enamel that you save simply because you would never part with it.
Over the summer, Casey asked for clarification about the Tooth Fairy and other parental lies she has been told. Because I believe the straight dope is best in both my personal and professional life, I told her the truth. She walked away satisfied that her hunches were correct, and I walked away feeling a tiny bit emptier inside because I realized the older I get, the more my Super Powers as a Mom are fading away. While cleaning the other day, I unearthed a wand at the bottom of Casey's toy box. I put it away with my treasured things, just so I could remind myself that at one point in my children's lives, I was their Sparkly Fairy.
This morning while we walked to school, Casey stopped short, put her hand to her mouth and spat out a bloody tooth, which she promptly handed over to me. I looked at it, and the realization hit me: my Tooth Fairy Days had come to an end.
Casey watched me staring at her tooth and said "Mom, if you want, you can give me money for that one. I will put it under my pillow for you."
I wasn't sure who was getting the better end of the deal; Casey, who would get a dollar, or me, who got to pretend she was a believer one more time. As it turned out, Bill put the dollar in her tooth fairy bear's little pocket. I looked in on her sleeping and felt tears well up in my eyes knowing that Tooth Fairy Bear's job was done for now. I would pack her up and put her away for my someday Grandchild.
When your babies are babies, everyone tells you that "they grow up so fast". At times, you are so mindless and exhausted that you wish those days away. But tonight, as I sit here and wonder where Motherhood will take me next, I want to stop the clock and keep my babies in their beds, safe, loved and happy. My blessings are many, and being the Tooth Fairy is one I will treasure the most.
