The Tooth Fairy

I have it on good word from my friend who grew up in Poland that the Tooth Fairy is an American thing. (There are tooth losing related rituals in other cultures - but most of them involve little mice taking the teeth, which is simply not true and completely ridiculous.) Imagine her surprise when her kindergarten daughter lost her first tooth and started wondering how much the Tooth Fairy would leave.

DD2 is in the throes of Tooth Fairy fantasy. Just having lost teeth numbers 3 and 4 (with a little help from the dentist yesterday - as her teeth don't come out on their own, just like mine as a child) it was time for a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night.

At 11:30pm, just after the Tooth Fairy had retired for the night, she popped up out of bed whispering, "Oh God, I forgot about DD2!" I go downstairs, grab the greenbacks out of my purse (because she'd found my stash of gold dollar coins earlier in the Summer - so I can't use anything so obvious), and dash back upstairs. I kid you not, as I'm slipping the teeth out of the pouch SHE SAT UP AND LOOKED AT ME.

My heart stopped. I smiled at her, quietly murmured in her ear "Mommy is just kissing you Goodnight like always." Kissed her cheek, left quietly. I waited about 15 minutes before attempting to slip the newly filled satin pouch back under her pillow. (I'm sure I was a sight, crawling stealthily in to her room.) Then I returned to my room and cried, afraid I have screwed up one of the most fun things about being six years old for my daughter.

This morning she appears to have no memory of seeing me last night. She probably was fast asleep and truly remembers nothing - but I wonder.

I wonder.