Blame it on the tooth fairy

This is Drew.



This is Drew with a very loose tooth.



This is Drew after he lost his first tooth!!!




And now, for the rest of the story.

Drew was actually home sick the day he lost his tooth. Of course we made a big deal of putting his tooth (in a baggie) under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

(A little back story here. A friend of his had already told him her parents put the money under her pillow, so he was not only sick, but also highly skeptical. I told him we certainly were not giving him any money, so his only hope was for the tooth fairy to come through.)

So, morning came and Drew slept in until after 9am. The rest of us were downstairs in the kitchen when he came in, all feverish and red-cheeked, hair standing on end, big scowl on his face and slapped the baggie with his tooth still in it on the counter.

"This is all there was!" He said, and walked away.

Yeah, the tooth fairy FORGOT to come. I know. Worst parents ever. Just give us the medal right now and be done with it.

In a matter of about 20 seconds, we exchanged horrified looks over his head, stifled our laughter at the dramatic scene that had just unfolded before us and then -- in a moment of brilliance only a mother's guilt could produce -- I offered this:

"You know, Drew, you are pretty sick. I bet the tooth fairy didn't dare come while you were sick, because she has to go from house to house and she wouldn't want to get any of the other children sick." (And we wonder why he's a germaphobe!)

He didn't respond.

Later that day we were playing the Allowance Game and Drew landed on a square that says "Lose a tooth. Receive $1." Drew looked at me and said, "Why can't MY parents give me a dollar for my tooth?!!" I reiterated our position -- either the tooth fairy comes through or you're out of luck. He just scowled at me.

So, that night we put Drew to bed and then realized the tooth was still on the kitchen counter. I went up to his room and suggested we give it another try. He responded by saying he was still sick so the tooth fairy would probably not come. His Bestemor had suggested putting the tooth in a glass of water beside his bed (I'm not sure where this came from, we never did that growing up!) so I reminded him of her idea and mentioned that maybe if we just put the glass on his window sill the tooth fairy wouldn't have to get close to him and therefore wouldn't have to worry about carrying his germs to the other children. He went for it.

The tooth fairy came. And left not one, but two dollars. (Late fee? Interest? Or are we now stuck giving him $2 for every tooth?)

Strangely enough, I think the whole situation convinced him the tooth fairy is, in fact, real. I mean, how else do you explain it?