For once, I was thrilled that 1) we were at home and 2) I had cash in my wallet. But wouldn’t you know that Jacob failed to put his tooth under his pillow. It sat all night on my kitchen counter, and I couldn't decide if I should move it to his pillow for him, leave it on the counter, or throw it away. It took every ounce of laid-backness in me (which is not very much) to leave it on the counter and try again the next night when he remembered to put it under his pillow. I managed to remember to be the tooth fairy, and it took Jacob two days and me asking before he realized his tooth had been replaced with two dollar bills! We could all just take or leave the tooth fairy!?
On the same day as our tooth fairy indifference, I had John reading Charlotte's Web to me. While we could take or leave the tooth fairy, we love Charlotte's Web. I read it to the boys long before they could read, and now John is reading it on his own. He took a break from his reading to inform me that Charlotte's Web is a very old (yes!), and a very popular (indeed!) book. He also added that it is based on a true story (wait a minute!?). Oh my....this boy has spent approximately six weeks out of every year on his Grandparent's farm. How on earth could he think that talking farm animals are real? We had a little discussion to correct his line of thinking, and then I prayed that he wasn't hearing voices in his head every time he saw a spider (which is often now that it's fall and they seem to be everywhere!)
After dealing with the situation at hand, my mind turned to the fun things we do to raise our boys, and the faith we're trying to instill in them. I’ve had more than one conversation with friends concerning elaborate plans involving the tooth fairy, Santa and the Easter Bunny, and other conversations about how to eventually wean our children from this fairy tales.
On the same day as our tooth fairy indifference, I had John reading Charlotte's Web to me. While we could take or leave the tooth fairy, we love Charlotte's Web. I read it to the boys long before they could read, and now John is reading it on his own. He took a break from his reading to inform me that Charlotte's Web is a very old (yes!), and a very popular (indeed!) book. He also added that it is based on a true story (wait a minute!?). Oh my....this boy has spent approximately six weeks out of every year on his Grandparent's farm. How on earth could he think that talking farm animals are real? We had a little discussion to correct his line of thinking, and then I prayed that he wasn't hearing voices in his head every time he saw a spider (which is often now that it's fall and they seem to be everywhere!)
After dealing with the situation at hand, my mind turned to the fun things we do to raise our boys, and the faith we're trying to instill in them. I’ve had more than one conversation with friends concerning elaborate plans involving the tooth fairy, Santa and the Easter Bunny, and other conversations about how to eventually wean our children from this fairy tales.
And then there’s the debate regarding the risk of ruining our kids’ faith in God with the fun traditions of childhood. I’ve settled on my own logic regarding this....it’s more important to live out our faith with our kids every day than it is to be brutally honest about where a lost tooth goes when it’s replaced with $2 (that’s the Bolthouse tooth fairy’s going rate:-). So I rest easy now, without the pressure of how well or unwell I perform the roles of various fantasy figures in my kids’ childhood, because one role I’m not playing is Savior. What a relief! Because one thing’s for sure—if I can’t manage the tooth fairy role, I’m certainly not qualified to attempt that of Savior—I’ll gladly leave that to God!
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