Four Feet More

Well, it finally happened. After months and months of waiting, Vika lost her first tooth. Not in the way we would have preferred though. Do you remember how a few months ago we learned that Vika's teeth were rotting out of her head, and she had to have several cavities filled? One of those cavities began bothering her again, so a week later, we took her back to the dentist for a check-up. He said everything was OK, but to keep an eye on it.

A few weeks ago, Vika came up to me and said, "Mama, what's this?" She then pulled her lip aside and revealed what appeared to be a horn growing out of her gums! Not a pretty sight. The poor kid had an abscess! She said it wasn't hurting her, but we still went through the steps of putting her on antibiotics, and last week, the tooth was extracted. *sigh* We really didn't want to resort to that, but the damage to the tooth was too great to try and save it.

The upside of the whole situation was that Vika was about to experience her first visit from the tooth fairy. The girl could hardly contain herself! Jeff made her excitement even greater when he told her a story of a visit he got from the tooth fairy as a child. He said he felt a little rustling under his pillow, and when he opened his eyes, there were three dots of light floating by his bed. He closed his eyes, so he wouldn't scare the tooth fairy away, and the next morning, there was a bright, shiny quarter under his pillow!

Naturally, Vika ate the story up. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she wrapped her tooth and put it in her special tooth fairy pillow. Then she went straight to bed, prepared to feign sleep so she could see the tooth fairy for herself. That plan lasted about a half-hour, and then she was out like a light.

Jeff and I set to work arranging a special nocturnal visit. Jeff was especially determined to make this a night to remember. So, he grabbed his flashlight and covered the front of it with a piece of foil in which he had punctured 3 small holes. This was intended to project fairy lights onto Vika's ceiling. My job, he explained, would be to replace the tooth with four quarters while he rummaged under Vika's pillow to nudge her awake.

Armed with our foil-covered flashlight and quarters, and dressed in dark clothing, Jeff and I quietly crept into Vika's room. I took the tooth and placed the quarters with such stealth that there was no way I was going to be caught. Then I waited in the hall, watching, as Jeff began to work his tooth fairy magic. He projected the light onto the ceiling, and gently pushed his hand under Vika's pillow, moving it slightly. Then he quickly hid beside her bed, waiting for Vika to open her eyes and see the fairy lights.

Nothing happened.

So, he repeated the process, nudging the pillow a bit harder this time. Again, nothing. By his fifth attempt, he was practically lifting Vika's head and pillow off the bed to get her to open her eyes. I tell you, that girl sleeps like the dead!

Finally, dejected, he left the room and joined me in the hall, where I stood, silently laughing at him. Poor guy. It was such a great plan, and I applaud his efforts to give our daughter a close encounter of the tooth fairy kind. Perhaps we'll have better luck next time.