Rite of Passage

It is part of life. The thing that defines your years when you are five or six. It has finally happened in our house and I feel a little sad because of it. After months of waiting the inevitable occurred.

Bug Boy lost his first tooth.

Since November (when the dentist told us that it would be falling out before Christmas) we have had a loose tooth. He allowed us to look at it, wiggle it, brush it to no avail. The thing would not budge. Meanwhile, every child in his class (and I mean, EVERY CHILD) and the girls that I watch after school lost teeth. Little Miss has lost FIVE since September, the sixth one is loose now. Bug Boy sat and waited patiently. He had us pack him apples and carrot sticks because, you know, they make loose teeth come out. He wanted hard, crunchy food because, you know, they make loose teeth come out. And Coliseum. He wanted lots and lots of coliseum because coliseum is good for your bones and it helps new teeth grow, which will help the old one fall out. Because, you know, ice cream has coliseum!

Last night, after indoor soccer, we did the "tooth check" that we do every night after dinner. Darling remarked that the time had come to try and pull it out. Bug Boy was having NONE of that. He said, "Dad! Just give me an apple! Cut up! WITH PEANUT BUTTER! CRUNCHY!" Darling sighed and obliged. As I cleaned up dishes and packed lunches, Bug Boy chatted with us (or made speeches to us, as he is inclined to do) about his day, his life, his Legos, his Star Wars, etc. I turned to look at him and noticed something red on his shirt and pants. Then he said, "Ewww! There is something in my peanut butter that I can't chew!" and spit it out on the floor. It was....DUN DUN DUN!!!!! His tooth!!!

He had blood running down his chin but he was sooooo excited! He and Darling ran to the mirror and checked it out, then dug out the letter they wrote a month ago to the tooth fairy. I tried to head Darling off before he mentioned tooth fairy (since Bug Boy had never heard of it and I do not do fairies and bunnies and santas) but it was too late. We are now committed to a few years of quarters under the pillow. Or half dollars, since that is what we had on hand to put in the envelope under the bed. Here is what Bug Boy wrote:

THIS IS PAGE 1
Dear Tooth Fairy. My name is Bug Boy. I am SIX YEARS OLD.
THIS IS PAGE 2
I live at 123 Main Street in Little Town, PA. Thank you. LOVE BUG BOY.

I think Darling was more excited than Bug Boy. He really gets into all of this cutesie stuff, I am the meany that would rather skip the events and parties. Anywho, Darling had tears in his eyes, I kid you not. He has stated on many occasions that he is happy and having fun. Of course, he never brings that up (for some strange reason) when Bugaboo is turning the sink on all over the kitchen floor, takes off his diaper and urinates all over his room or runs outside at 5am and is up to his knees in mud. Hmmmm...This is the same man that while I was IN LABOR ON THE WAY TO THE BIRTH CENTER, for the SECOND TIME, he was mentioning that when we have the NEXT ONE, we should do X, Y, Z and I wanted to take his bottom lip and pull it up over his head and then kick him repeatedly in the arse.

Ok then.

So the tooth is out, safely tucked away in my room. I am keeping it for a little while, since it has a ton of his DNA in there (plenty of tooth pulp, I read that it is useful in a safe kit with your kids' prints and such). I do not think I will keep EVERY TOOTH as my mother did. She still has each and every envelope, with teeth and fairy request, in her jewelry box in her room. I found them a few years ago when helping her clean and had a good laugh at some of the things my siblings and I wrote. I was Ms. Moneybags (please leave me $1 this time since I am ten. Thank you.) and my brother was very concise (Thanks, love Jay). I know she kept them because she could not stand to part with them or their messages. And with seven children, that is quite a large amount of baby teeth!

Yes, I feel sad in a way. The gap-toothed smile is on its way. I KNEW I should have made that appointment for our family portrait sooner! ACK!