When Tooth Fairies Forget

Sooo, I suck. Why you ask?  Because I forgot to play tooth fairy last night.  NOT good.


I think this is the fourth tooth Sonya's lost so far.  It has been a little wiggly for a few weeks now.  Then the other day she wiggled it to the point of extremely loose.  She asked me to see if it would come out on Wednesday, but it didn't seem quite ready yet.  Then last night after dinner, she asked again for me to try and pull it out.  It took a little more pulling than I like, but she was desperate to have that tooth out and it was ready enough.  The "magic tissue" did the trick and it popped out in my hand. She ran around the house just as excited as if it was the first one she had lost.  She showed her sisters and we called Andy at work.  Then she wrote her note to the tooth fairy, as she does every time, placed her tooth in the little tooth bear she has and placed it on her nightstand.  I also got to hear about how her friend Tyler, who is in her class at school, lost his tooth yesterday, and how cool was it she lost HERS the same day!  How cool indeed.  Little did I know that Tyler's lost tooth would help provide my alibi the next morning.  She went to bed happy and exited.


I'm not sure why I completely forgot about the tooth, I just did.  Maybe because the novelty of her losing a tooth has worn off.  Who knows?  I wasn't even drinking wine last night!  I swear!  Andy came home a bit late, so missed bedtime which made it so he didn't remember the tooth any more than I did.  I even checked on her before I went to bed last night, but for whatever reason, my eyes never looked to the nightstand where the tooth and note sat waiting.


This morning I woke up a bit later than usual.  Most of the time I try to get up by 6:15 so I can work out. All this week I haven't gone to bed until late and then woken up early.  That is why when my alarm went off at 6am and I realized I  hit the wall.  I couldn't do it.  My body wouldn't get out of bed, no matter how much my mind try to coax it, so I gave up and went back to sleep for another hour.  Then around 7:15 I heard in my sleepy state Sonya calling for me.


"What is it?" I called from my bed, still not ready to get out of it yet.


"Can you come here please?" She asked, sounding kind of sad.

"In a minute, girlie," I told her, trying to wake up.  Then out of nowhere it hit me.  SHIT!  I FORGOT ABOUT HER TOOTH!!!  I was awake.

Quickly, I formed a plan in my head.  My first thought was to tell her the tooth fairy must have been so busy she didn't have a chance to get to her.  No, that was no good. She would be upset, and I didn't want to deal with that.  Too much guilt.   Then I had it!  I found a piece of paper and a random crayon on top of my nightstand.  I scribbled a quick little note.  Then I went to our change container in the closet, where I had a one dollar bill and a couple quarters.  I wrapped them inside the note and headed to her room.

"What's up Sonya?" She had her back to me, so I quickly placed the note and money next to the nightstand.  

She was already crying.  Shit, shit, shit! 

"Tooth Fairy didn't come last night!" She said through her tears.

"Really?" I said feigning surprise, "that's so weird.  Are you sure?  Let's look around."

Then I bent down next to her nightstand and picked up the folded note and money. 

"Wait, what's this?" I said.

"What?" She asked, looking over the bed to me on the floor.  I opened up the note and place it with the money on the bed next to her.  She read the note, and immediately broke out into a smile.  

"Well, that's strange," I told Sonya.  "She left you money and a little note but forgot to take your tooth."

"Yeah, that is weird," she agreed.


"You know what?" I told her, spinning my story.  "She was probably so busy last night, she just completely forgot it on her way out.  I mean your friend Tyler lost his tooth too, and I'm sure there were other kids she had to go to last night.  It was probably a crazy night for her.  You know how that happens sometimes to mommy and she forgets things."  

Luckily, she bought it.  "Yeah.  Like when you go to the grocery store and are in a rush and then we get to the car and you say 'crap, I forgot something'."

"Yeah, just like that," I said.  "But let's not say crap."


Then I said to her,  "I think we should leave your tooth here.  She probably realizes she forgot it and will most likely come back to get it tonight, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah," she agreed.  "Then she can answer the questions I asked her on my note too."

"Yeah I'm sure she'll have more time for that tonight, but at least she left you something last night," I said.

"It's a good thing too," she started to tell me. "Because  everyone at school knew my tooth was loose and if they saw I lost it they would have asked me what I got from the tooth fairy.  I was afraid I was going have to tell them nothing."

Hold on a second while I pick my heart up off the floor.

"Plus!" She said.  "Usually I only get a dollar and this time she gave me a dollar fifty!"

Oops.  I had forgotten how much we give her.  I think the extra 50 cents was for my guilty conscience.  

"Well, maybe she left you a bit more this time, since she was in such a rush and couldn't answer your note last night," I offered.

"Yeah that's probably it," she agreed.

Great!  I almost created the most dramatic thing to happen to my daughter to date.  Going to school and telling her friends the tooth fairy didn't come.  What kind of mother am I?  I know there has to be others of you out there who have done this a time or two.  In fact, I'm almost positive it happened to my sister Beth, so perhaps it's genetic and I just got it from my mom.  If I remember correctly though, she covered much like I did.  

Sooo...yeah...I suck.  BUT at least I made up for it and suck a little less now.