Of teeth and fairies

After waiting for months and months, Elegant finally lost her first tooth yesterday.

If you don't have children, or if you have children but they aren't dropping teeth yet, I don't know if I can adequately explain the hugeness of this event in a child's life. Yes, we all think we remember it from our childhoods, but we really do not. Ever since Graceful started losing teeth almost three years ago, Elegant has been waiting with much anticipation, sometimes even going so far as to try to make her teeth loose. Given that the girls got their teeth at about the same times in their respective lives, we assumed that they would lose them along the same schedule. So we started looking last summer for signs of wiggliness. Nothing.

Nothing in the fall either.

Sigh.

And to paraphrase Once Upon a Potty, Elegant waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited.

In the meantime, teeth managed to almost fall into Graceful's lap without any provocation and she had repeated visits from Olivia Whitetooth, her personal tooth fairy. (I'll explain Olivia Whitetooth shortly.) In the first grade, Elegant's classmates all lost teeth, one by one, until finally Elegant was the only child who had not lost a tooth yet. ("And isn't that just the saddest thing ever Mommy?")

So FINALLY the first tooth came out yesterday afternoon. Elegant strutted and gloated all afternoon. She also spent some time letting the entire world know her news.

Here's the email she sent to her best friend:

Dear M,
I LOST MY FIRST TOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instrucsions:
1.open you'r mouth.
2.grab you'r tooth.
3.twist you'r tooth.
4.pull out you'r tooth.
love, Elegant

Naturally, Elegant had a difficult time going to sleep last night. We kept reminding her that the tooth fairy wouldn't come until the house was dark and quiet. Her response was, "YOU should go to bed so that the tooth fairy will come soon."

So about Olivia Whitetooth: She is the tooth fairy who visits Graceful. She not only removes the old tooth and replaces it with a one dollar bill, but she also leaves a letter that is a story about her life. In each letter, she talks about what she does, her life, and her friends and family. For example, Olivia has a cousin named Gertrude Shinychoppers down in Houston, a friend named Belinda Bigtooth who delivers to the family down the street, and a another friend named Bud Bigmolar, who is cowboy tooth fairy in Wyoming. Olivia Whitetooth is Graceful's kind of tooth fairy. She loves gardening and animals and is almost British in her outlook and demeanor. Olivia has been a very helpful fairy too, in that sometimes she can impart information to Graceful that Pete and I have tried unsuccessfully ourselves. Such as, perhaps it would be best if Graceful pulled her own teeth, instead of having me do it. [Shudder.] I hate pulling teeth.

I decided some time back that Elegant needed a different tooth fairy. Someone more in line with her personality. Here's the letter that Elegant got last night:

Dear Elegant,
Congratulations on losing your first tooth! We tooth fairies have been watching and waiting and are so excited for you. In fact, as I was about to leave to come to your house tonight, my dear friend, Ivana Goldtooth, asked me, no she begged me, to be allowed to come visit you tonight. Since she really, really, really wanted to do it, I said yes. I hope you don’t mind.

Your friend, Olivia Whitetooth

Dearest Elegant,

Darling! I’m SO excited that you lost a tooth. Really, I’m just giddy with excitement. It’s about time, I tell you, darling. Really, it is. And good for you for pulling your own tooth! Makes things much easier for your parents.

So darling, I’m a different kind of tooth fairy than my good friend Olivia, who is a very fine fairy. Instead of living in the country with lots of gardens like Olivia, I live in New Tooth City in an apartment in a very tall building. It’s just so glamorous darling, really it is. I do all sorts of fabulous things. I go shopping at the best stores. Nieman Toothus is my favorite because it’s just divine and the clothes there are just so fancy. I also go to museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Teeth – the Met is just amazing, I tell you. I also love to get dressed up in my most wonderful clothes and go out at night to dinner and to plays.

Darling, I think I would be the most perfect tooth fairy for you, don’t you think? Keep your teeth shiny and clean. I’ll be back soon to see you darling.

Love, Ivana Goldtooth

Can't you just imagine this fairy? She's bold and brassy and right up Elegant's alley. She talks big, darling, and lives even bigger!

Now, can you imagine the look on Elegant's face when she woke up (extra early) this morning? Yes, the child who normally has to be dragged out of bed at 7:15 or 7:30 was up at 5:52 a.m. She had the good sense to wait until 6:08 before waking us up to tell us about Ivana Goldtooth.

And she has four more loose teeth. It could be a summer fully of early mornings.