If you live anywhere within a 500 mile radius of Memphis, there's a good chance you heard his shouts and cheers of jubilation. He was one excited kid.
That night, he drew a picture of him and the tooth fairy and wrote "Too Fee + Jaidan" (because I'm a mean mommy who made him sound out the words rather than spelling them out for him) across the top. He went in the pantry and pulled out an Oreo and graham crackers to sit out "just in case she's tired and hungry from all the other kids she's visited."
I couldn't help but marvel at how easily he believed. Believed that there would be money under his pillow the following morning. Believed that some tiny little fairy flew around collecting teeth. Just believed.
Man, I love that about little kids.
I know there are people who don't 'do' the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny or Santa Claus with their kids because they think it's wrong or because they see it as lying to them. And, you know, that's their business. But I just . . . I can't imagine NOT giving my children this magic.
My boys really believe that the stuffed Grinch we have in our house is magical and that he delivers them fun, Christmas themed stuff to do every day. They believe without hesitation that a big jolly guy will squeeze down our chimney on Christmas Eve to leave gifts for them and their baby sister. Jaidan woke me up before 7:00 Sunday morning, waving a $5 bill in crazy excitement because he believed the tooth fairy brought it to him, she'd actually come!
They just believe. And I love that. There's something magical about seeing that innocence. The world is yet to corrupt them, their imaginations still run wild. Their childhood innocence gives them the capacity to see magic. It's something so special - and magical - for a parent to drink in. Their wide-eyed wonder, their over-the-top excitement.
Believe me, it's totally worth paying $5 for a first lost tooth.
