Last week, the girls were visiting their grands.  The second day of their visit, we checked in and Morgan announced, “And guess what  I have a loose tooth?”

I send my baby away with a full set of firmly secured chompers. Two days and one state line later, they’ve come unmoored! 

I suppose it is about time, though I am kind of surprised. Maybe two months ago, Morgan had complained that her teeth had been hurting her.  This went on few a few days until I thought, “Maybe she has a cavity!” I whisked her to the dentist, the ironically named, Dr. Morgan (seriously).  Dr. Morgan checked out my Morgan and attributed the oral distress to growing pains.  Basically, her adult teeth were making their presence known, but weren’t quite ready to evict the baby tooth squatters.

“It’s going to be some time before they get wiggly,” Dr. Morgan said in parting.  “Probably nothing until the fall or winter.”  I made a mental note to myself and them promptly moved on to the next thing that needed my attention. 

The kids in kindergarten had teeth falling out like they’d been knocked in the mouth with a hammer à la Tom and Jerry.  It seemed like everyday Morgan came home with a story of how someone had a wiggly tooth or their tooth fell out in class.  Morgan was desperate to join the ranks, but her teeth remained staunchly in place.  Her classmates were turning six, some even seven, in rapid succession while Morgan remained 5.   I told her that kids grow at different speeds, just like kids have different birthdays.  We talked about different people grow older at different times, hitting development milestones at different times. She asked me if that’s why I wore a bra and had hair in places other than my head, but I delicately redirected the conversation back to teeth. She understood, but wasn’t happy about it.  

But back to our original conversation.  It wasn’t until after I hung up the phone that I thought to remind her that the Tooth Fairy only comes to the house where you live, not where you lose the tooth! I know, that’s so bad, but I really wanted to share this experience with her.  I remember what it was like to lose a tooth. I had a special, heart shaped pillow with the words “For the Tooth Fairy” embroidered on it.  There was a small pocket in which to slip the tooth in exchange for monetary gains, usually nothing more than a quarter or so.  I don’t know what happened to that pillow, but I had seen this:

It’s an official Tooth Fairy Kit! What the what?! How awesome is that? It comes with a letterpress Certificate of Record for filing with your local Tooth Fairy and sweet cloth deposit bag for your teeth! I had planned to get one for Morgan when her tooth was loose, but after our conversation, I all but had one FedExed to the house.  

I was surprised enough when she told me her tooth was loose.  Imagine my surprise when we picked her up and learned she actually has two loose teeth! They’re right next to each other and I guess her tongue couldn’t tell the difference. 

For all her talk about wanting to loose teeth, however, Morgan does not want any assistance with having them come out. She prefers au naturale I guess, and would rather wait for them to jump out on their own rather than have me apply my ministrations involving thread and doorknobs.

Morgan already knows that it’s the parents that supply the funds for the tooth.  That information came courtesy of kindergarten, as well as the truth about Santa and the Easter Bunny.   I’m hoping she’s hung on to a particle of that childhood innocence and has a scrap of doubt about the veracity of what she’s heard.  Wouldn’t it be nice to think there’s some magic left?  

Whether the teeth fall out or are “coaxed” out, I should probably Google what the going rate on baby teeth is these days. I have a feeling, there’s been significant inflation over the years.