And it starts. . . . the end of all the little fantasies of childhood. The girls caught me red-handed in Tooth Fairy mode. Well, sort of pink-handed, I guess. I had managed to put the money under Zoe's pillow and retrieved the tooth and a note she'd left for the Tooth Fairy. I put the tooth in the usual hiding place in my room (inherited from my French grandmother, a figurine of a Chinese man toting two buckets, the teeth live in the buckets!), and sat down on my bed to write the return note -- and out pop two girls from their bedroom!
I tried a dodge that didn't work, and Maya looked at me knowingly and said, "SOME kids in my class say their moms and dads are the Tooth Fairy. . . ." Zoe is sure I took the tooth, but can't figure out why I'd do that before the Tooth Fairy came. . . . (Yes, Zoe's the oldest (almost 10 AND A HALF), but I always knew Maya would pop to it first, just sayin').
So I looked them each in the eye and said, "OK, do you really want to know? Don't ask me if you don't want to know, OK?" Giggling, they each affirmed they really wanted to know and I told them there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy and I'd been playing Tooth Fairy all along! They thought it was hysterically funny, and I thanked them for letting me play pretend. They were thrilled to know the secret, and giggled about playing the games with their kids once they were grown-ups. Whew! Another childhood milestone successfully reached (I've actually been dreading this, probably more than most adoptive parents dread the birth parent talk or most parents dread the sex talk. Those are EASY compared to saying "I've been lying to you all along!").
Then Maya looked at me and said, "About the Easter Bunny . . ." and I reminded her she should only ask the question if she really wanted to know the answer. . . . And she changed the subject right quick-like! Not quite ready for all the childhood shibboleths to come tumbling down at once (do shibboleths tumble? mixing my metaphors, maybe I mean obelisk?! time for bed!).
P.S. So much for early to bed -- almost as soon as I finished this post, facebook and twitter light up with news of an important announcement, and now almost 3 hours later I'm still digesting the news of Osama bin Laden's death. How about that, the death of the Tooth Fairy and Osama bin Laden the same day. . . .
I love that she backtracked on the Easter Bunny discussion! It's easier to let go of the little childhood fantasies one at a time!
ReplyDeleteLololololol!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy youngest was 11 and we decided it was time to let her know about Santa. She grinned and said, "Duhhhh, Mom. Ive known it was a hoax since I was 6. I was afraid if you knew I didn't believe I would get less presents!!!"
It is sad when those go away, though!
My youngest was also the one to figure it out first, but the order was santa, easter bunny, tooth fairy, all in quick succession. Of course she still gets the $$ for her teeth!
ReplyDeleteSue (aka anonymous)
I am so glad they took it well! My experience as a child was horrific. I found out on the playground from this girl Terin - I was in 4th grade. As soon as I got home I questioned my parents and asked about all of the holidays. Then I drilled them on the existence of God, which did not go well. And then in 5th grade I read "The Face on the Milk Carton" and thought that I had been kidnapped at birth, I guess because by then I thought everything was a lie. Anyway since then I have been going back and forth on whether I will even tell my kids about Santa, etc. because I am so scared they will think I was lying instead of just allowing them to enjoy some of the fun of being a kid. Any words of advice?
ReplyDeleteWell, you can still continue being the tooth fairy that you are, right? I think your kids will say that you're an awesome tooth fairy. Besides, tooth-fairy-mode can serve as a motivation for them not to be scared when their teeth fall off, or something.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, good thing they didn't ask about Santa. Or have they? :O