My baby....

Ever since my grandkids started losing their baby teeth, I've wanted to tell my favorite "Tooth Fairy" story. Tonight's the night.

Zach is our baby. See above photo. This is not when Zach was four. But isn't my little redheaded, freckle-faced boy cute? Zach was also our loudest kid. I think it came from being the youngest of 4 children---and trying to be heard. Zach was also a sanguine personality...which means he was the life of the party! He was our family entertainment as he grew up. Seriously. He gave us hours of laughter. In fact, there may be more Zach-stories to come! I had to tell you all of this to set up this story.

When David, who is 2 years older than Zach, lost his first baby tooth at 6 years old, he was so excited to put his tooth under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy to come. Now you also have to understand that at the time, we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment where Amy, David & Zach shared a bedroom. (Matt slept in the dining room! ha!) After giving this some serious thought, Zach came to me almost in hysterics because he "didn't want That Tooth Fairy coming in his room!!" Of course, I started laughing (not always a good thing to do) and tried to convince Zach it was going to be ok. He wasn't convinced. His hysteria rose another notch. Since it was past bedtime, I decided to handle this situation seriously. So...I took Zach into my bedroom and told him, "Zach....I'm the Tooth Fairy." "Uh-uh!!!," he said, with his eyes wide. "Oh yes, Zach. It's me. And I'll prove it to you. Tonight, when I put money under David's pillow, I'll put a dime under your pillow so you'll know I'm the Tooth Fairy. But you can't tell David. It's our secret," I told him. You could see the wheels turning in his four-year-old mind. He looked at me quizzically and asked, "HOW DO YOU GET TO ALL THOSE HOUSES EVERY NIGHT?!?"