When Your Daughter Realizes the Tooth Fairy Isn’t Real
The other day, my daughter told me that there’s no tooth fairy. I was in shock!
At first, I didn’t how to respond. I took a deep breath, and then a smile broke across my face, followed by a chuckle. Before I could confirm nor deny, I needed more intel.
It all began when my daughter came downstairs to the kitchen in the morning to point out that two of her teeth were wriggly. I jokingly mentioned that the tooth fairy may not find us when we depart for vacation in a few days. Her eyes lit up and she quickly stated, “I know YOU are the tooth fairy!”
After a moment of interrogation, it was discovered that she learned the secret from a family member quite some time ago and continued to play the game.
I fondly reminisce about the first time I played tooth fairy. My daughter was full of questions.
“How does that tooth fairy come out of a closed box?” “How does she find our house?” and “Where does she put all those teeth?” are just a few of the questions she asked.
As part of the bedroom routine, my daughter prepped her pillow and then carefully placed her baby tooth in the “tooth fairy box”. Opening the box to say goodbye to her tooth one more time before closing it for good. Upon satisfaction, she selectively placed the box behind her pillow. Sometimes she’d hide it so well, there were moments I thought I’d wake her trying to find the buried box! One time she slept holding the box. Almost like Houdini, I replaced the tooth for a folded bill.
The next morning was my favorite moment. She came running to my bedroom with excitement.
“The tooth fairy came!” The excitement was all I wanted to see. Precious moments like this doesn’t get any sweeter.
It’s without question that life passes by too quickly. Too often, you look forward to the next moment, not fully comprehending the present . In the blink of an eye, the moment is missed and lost forever.
At the early beginnings of childhood, you frame yourself into a fantasy world. From kingdoms of princesses and princes, to dragon slayers, to superheroes, your world is untouchable. Warped into time and full of imagination.
As you grow up, those fantasies slowly fade as reality sets in. But the amazing thing is that if you close your eyes, you can instantly go back in time, if you truly want to. Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?
If you ask me, I’d prefer to live in a world full of happiness and imagination. The key is how you transform your fantasies into reality. If you can do that, then you truly have it all.
Although my daughter knows the truth about the tooth fairy, I wonder what her thoughts are about Santa? Should I ask her or continue to play the game or wait until she calls me out?
Never let go of your childhood fantasies and keep those feet moving.