Last night, Ryder bit into an apple and lost another tooth – his seventh – right before bedtime. He put his baby tooth inside his tiny fabric tooth pouch and stuck it beneath his pillow. The only trouble? He now loves sleeping in our guest room – in a double bed vs. his “little kid” car bed. He was concerned that the Tooth Fairy might not think to look for him there. So, he wrote this note to her and placed it in his real bed. A brilliant move. And, sure enough, she found him in the guest room and left a dollar behind.
“I’ve never really seen her,” he told me yesterday. “But I know she’s really real.”
He has no proof, of course. No pictures, no sightings. But he has no need for evidence; he has an unshakable faith. One night, I think after he’d lost Tooth #5, the Tooth Fairy didn’t show up. When he came into my room the next morning to tell me, my heart sank. I felt so awful. And I held my breath, waiting for my boy to wonder out loud if she was really real.
But he didn’t skip a beat. “Guess she had a really busy night and couldn’t get here,” he said. “I bet she’ll make it tonight.”
Of course, I know eventually his faith will be tested to the max. It will break my heart to watch, each and every time. First with Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Someday with angels and spirits and love and God. My hope is that he’ll realize we are are blessed every day by unseen forces. But he will have to discover and decide for himself what he believes. I can’t do it for him; faith cannot be forced. I can only promise that whenever he has questions or worries or revelations to share, I will be there for him…right next door.
Liv, Liv, Liv – just when I'm all tense and stressed out, you come out with a story that brings tears to my eyes and makes me remember how much I love life!
The tooth fairy also "got busy" at our house, but lo and behold, she had left the money and a note at the breakfast table instead! (Said she apologized, but knew my daughter would find it!)
Tell both your boys that Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and…well lots of things are real for as long as you believe in them. (I STILL believe in them all…!).
As always, you have made my day!
lisa
Adorable post Liv!!! I love your insight!
that note is the cutest thing I've ever seen! The tooth fairy forgot to come to my daughter's room last week. Luckily she handled it well. I told my hubby I'd kill him if he let me forget again the 2nd night! lol Whew, all is right with the world!
Thanks for your sweet comments! Here's to believing there's more than meets the eye…
Those so call "mythical" entities live in us all.
Ryder has incredible penmanship for his age. What a wonderful sight it is.