The End of Another Era
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Anyway...
My oldest daughter, BP, just turned 11 this year, and has still believed in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, etc. At least, she has claimed to. Perhaps it was just a ploy to get candy, presents, money, etc. Well, anyway, she lost a molar this past week, Wednesday. When going to bed, she told me she was going to tuck it into her pillowcase to make sure it didn't fall out. Panicked, and thinking about the logistics of trying to get that tooth and note out of the pillowcase without waking her, I said, "why don't I take it so I can show Mom, (who was napping before work at the time), and then I'll put it back after she's seen it." She acquiesced and I removed the note and tooth. I did my Dad-ly duty that night, and returned a reply to the note, 1 tooth lighter, but $2 heavier.
The next night, I asked her, "where's the Tooth Fairy's reply?"
"Why do you need to see it?" she responded, "you already know what it says."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"You wrote it," she stated matter-of-factly.
Again, I pretended not to know what she was talking about.
"1," she said, "you took the note out to show Mom."
"Yes," I told her, "I knew Mom would have wanted to see it."
"2," she continued, "the hand-writing looks just like yours."
"What do you mean?" I queried, "I write in all caps, or in cursive." (In hind-sight, of course, I realized that, had I not seen the note yet, as I was claiming, I would not necessarily know that the Tooth Fairy's hand-writing hadn't been all caps or cursive... Unless I remembered it from a previous visit...not too likely.)
"Yes, and the note was in all caps, wasn't it?" she wondered.
"I don't think so," I said. (Again, how would I know?)
She didn't seem convinced, but we did our kisses and good-nights and I left the room. I later told my wife about it, and we discussed and decided that it was time to tell her the truth. I mean, it's awkward enough being a 6th grader at a new middle school, and trying to convince your friends, who have long since stopped believing, that all those myths are real. I love the fact that we were able to keep the magic alive this long for her, and am sad that it has to end. But we still have another young one for whom the magic can exist for a while. Our oldest didn't find out the truth until middle school either, so I have high hopes for the youngest!
Anyway, Thursday night I took her aside and said, "you know that question you had about the Tooth Fairy note? Well it's true. I wrote it." She was a little taken aback and said, "you're probably Santa Claus too, but I want to keep thinking that there really is a Santa Claus. "Well you go right on thinking that, then," I told her.
*sigh*
Anyway...
My oldest daughter, BP, just turned 11 this year, and has still believed in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, etc. At least, she has claimed to. Perhaps it was just a ploy to get candy, presents, money, etc. Well, anyway, she lost a molar this past week, Wednesday. When going to bed, she told me she was going to tuck it into her pillowcase to make sure it didn't fall out. Panicked, and thinking about the logistics of trying to get that tooth and note out of the pillowcase without waking her, I said, "why don't I take it so I can show Mom, (who was napping before work at the time), and then I'll put it back after she's seen it." She acquiesced and I removed the note and tooth. I did my Dad-ly duty that night, and returned a reply to the note, 1 tooth lighter, but $2 heavier.
The next night, I asked her, "where's the Tooth Fairy's reply?"
"Why do you need to see it?" she responded, "you already know what it says."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"You wrote it," she stated matter-of-factly.
Again, I pretended not to know what she was talking about.
"1," she said, "you took the note out to show Mom."
"Yes," I told her, "I knew Mom would have wanted to see it."
"2," she continued, "the hand-writing looks just like yours."
"What do you mean?" I queried, "I write in all caps, or in cursive." (In hind-sight, of course, I realized that, had I not seen the note yet, as I was claiming, I would not necessarily know that the Tooth Fairy's hand-writing hadn't been all caps or cursive... Unless I remembered it from a previous visit...not too likely.)
"Yes, and the note was in all caps, wasn't it?" she wondered.
"I don't think so," I said. (Again, how would I know?)
She didn't seem convinced, but we did our kisses and good-nights and I left the room. I later told my wife about it, and we discussed and decided that it was time to tell her the truth. I mean, it's awkward enough being a 6th grader at a new middle school, and trying to convince your friends, who have long since stopped believing, that all those myths are real. I love the fact that we were able to keep the magic alive this long for her, and am sad that it has to end. But we still have another young one for whom the magic can exist for a while. Our oldest didn't find out the truth until middle school either, so I have high hopes for the youngest!
Anyway, Thursday night I took her aside and said, "you know that question you had about the Tooth Fairy note? Well it's true. I wrote it." She was a little taken aback and said, "you're probably Santa Claus too, but I want to keep thinking that there really is a Santa Claus. "Well you go right on thinking that, then," I told her.
*sigh*
1 Comments:
Yah, just keep lying to your children. They'll learn soon enough that they could never trust you for anything anyway.
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