A Letter from "TF"

Madison lost her first tooth in kindergarten. She was so excited! Until she put her tooth under her pillow and discovered the next morning that this thing called a Tooth Fairy - a total stranger - had actually come into her room in the middle of the night...when she was all alone, violated her personal space and then took her tooth. This near brush with death was hardly worth the money left behind by this thing called a Tooth Fairy.

And, I have to admit, if you look at it from her from her point of view, it is kinda creepy.

So, soon thereafter when she lost her second tooth...she did not even tell Joe or I. She had been hopeful if she kept it to herself, that crazy fairy would not come. Of course, if your daughter is missing her front teeth, it is next to impossible not to notice! To appease her fear, we convinced Madison that Tooth Fairy's do not just visit at night, they will come anytime of day. So that afternoon, we put her tooth under her pillow and then went out to play. When we checked back a few hours later, low and behold her tooth was gone and in it's place was money.

She was finally able to relax about the whole Tooth Fairy situation and enjoy loosing her teeth. And boy did she loose some teeth! During kindergarten, Madison lost EIGHT teeth. Most of that year, she looked like a Jack-O-Lantern with the odd tooth here or there.


Seeing as how she was loosing teeth left and right in kindergarten, Madison went almost three years without loosing another tooth. She has matured a lot in that time.


While now she is still not quite comfortable with the Tooth Fairy visiting her room at night...She did set up a bed with her American Girl doll outside her bedroom door. And she put her tooth, along with the following note, under her dolls' pillow:



She is obviously feeling more comfortable in her relationship with the Tooth Fairy - she even had the nerve to ask for more money! By the way, I felt the Tooth Fairy was being more than generous in leaving $10.00 in the past. But, being the astute business person that she is, Madison requested more.

To which the Tooth Fairy replied:

Dear Madison,

Thank you for your note. My name is “The Tooth Fairy” but my friends call me “TF” for short. Over the years children have given me other names such as Flossy, Winkle, Sparkles and so many more. I don’t mind at all if you want to give me a special name. But I’ll always be the Tooth Fairy. If you want you can just call me TF. If you have a special name for me, please leave me another note to let me know.

I do not have a picture with me, but, what do I look like? I am not tall and I am not short. I have nice skin and nice hair. My eyes are very pretty and I have an enchanting smile. Sometimes I wear my wings, and sometimes I do not. If you close your eyes and imagine what I look like, you just may be able to see me looking back at you. When I was just the youngest fairy, I learned that children’s laughter made my wings move faster.

I will leave you $15 this time. But please keep in mind the amount of money I have to give for teeth changes all the time. I can sometimes leave more money, other times I have to leave less. There are several secret and loving adults that have a lot of money. They give money to me so I can trade it for your lost teeth. One time I had such a generous donation to Tooth Fairy Land that I was able to give out $100 for a very special clean and white sparkling tooth, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that again. Please remember that loosing a baby tooth really isn’t just about getting money. It is about the magic you share with your friends and family. It is about the magic moment you realize you are getting just a little bit older. Be sure to always remember this time and to cherish the people you love and that love you the most.

Love Always,
TF

Madison immediately noticed that TF's handwriting looked very similar to Mom's. I quickly pointed out the the Tooth Fairy writes in all capital letters, something I never do. Luckily, that explanation appeased her.

I'm amazed at the wonder, joy and unconditional belief that a tooth fairy actually exists. But I'm sad to realize that this utter innocence will not last much longer.

Isn’t there some way that we can slow down this growing up business?