a rite of passage

when you’re a young parent, life is a series of firsts…first tooth, first step, first day of kindergarten…much to celebrate.

when you’re a parent of teenagers, there are still lots of firsts…first dance, first girlfriend, first dorm room…but it’s not all about firsts.

when you’re a parent of teenagers, you start to experience ‘lasts.’

last night was our last visit from the tooth fairy.

now, no one in my house has actually believed in the tooth fairy in about a decade. in fact, i don’t think the child in question ever believed in her….older brothers are good for some things..bad for others. she’s taken the money, mind you…it’s not really about that though.

i was made aware of the last tooth via text message from the junior high…’i lost my tooth!’ she took it out of a little envelope provided by the school nurse when she got home and, at bedtime, found the tooth fairy pillow that her grandmother bought her when she was two. she tucked the tooth inside and put it under her pillow….just like she’d been doing since she was 6.

i’ve only given more than a dollar for a tooth once. that was when this same child had a tooth knocked out by a softball. i figured the toothfairy might throw in a little extra for pain and suffering. but this morning, sometime in the 6am hour, i dug all the one dollar bills out of my wallet and stuffed them into the pocket of the little pillow. four dollars for the last tooth.

about an hour later when i woke her up…eyes still closed she asked, ‘did the tooth fairy come?’ here is where i admit to a less than stellar record in this department. i’m only batting about .750 as the tooth fairy, so the question was fair enough.

‘i think she did,’ i said.

she reached for the pillow and pulled out the four dollars, ‘i’m gonna miss her,’ she said.

she’s gonna miss you too.

–lauren