Why the Tooth Fairy Went AWOL
By Katy M. Clark
It glistened in the soft morning light, the single tear that fell from my eight-year-old daughter’s eye as she stood in our bedroom doorway.
“Mommy, she didn’t come!” she cried, breathing despondently. Then that single tear turned into a torrent.
Oh, fudge. The tooth fairy didn’t come last night.
“Uh,” I stammered in reply, elbowing my husband awake.
“What happened?” he mumbled.
“The tooth fairy didn’t come last night,” I replied.
“Oh, f—” he yelled. (Let’s just say that fudge was not the first thing out of his mouth.)
How did we let this happen? Quickly I reviewed the night before. Oh, yes! Exhausted by schooling our kids and working at home, we had simply fallen asleep without remembering our tooth-fairy duties.
There were more extenuating circumstances, too. Our daughter’s tooth had been wiggly for just a day. That was extremely short notice. Plus, it had been months since she’d lost her last tooth. We were getting rusty.
Still, the plain, hard truth was that we blew it. The tooth fairy had not come.
We sprang out of bed, soothing our daughter (and each other) with hugs and reassuring words. “There has to be a good reason why she didn’t come,” we told our daughter. In fact, my husband and I, along with friends, family, and the Internet, came up with 10 reasons why the tooth fairy had shirked her duties:
1. The dew was too heavy. Her wings had gotten wet and she couldn’t fly.
2. The regular tooth fairy was on vacation and the substitute tooth fairy didn’t know what she was doing.
3. She couldn’t get to your pillow due to your messy room.
4. Too much traffic. She’ll leave earlier tonight!
5. She was sick.
6. Spreadsheet error. Your tooth was projected to come out on Friday so she wasn’t ready when it came out on Monday.
7. Some tooth fairies like snacks. Leave one out tonight and she’ll probably come.
8. Oh, look, she dropped the money on the floor over there. She must have wanted you to keep your tooth as a souvenir.
9. You probably woke up and scared her away, even if you don’t remember doing that.
10. She ran out of money and will be back tonight. She’s a tiny fairy so she can only carry so much.
My daughter seemed to calm down after she spent the day listening to our reasons why the tooth fairy hadn’t come. All was made right with the world the following morning when, hallelujah, the tooth fairy did come.
Moms and Dads, may your tooth fairy always arrive. In case she doesn’t, remember there’s always a reason why!
Katy M. Clark is a writer who embraces her maternal imperfections at experiencedbadmom.com.
It glistened in the soft morning light, the single tear that fell from my eight-year-old daughter’s eye as she stood in our bedroom doorway.
“Mommy, she didn’t come!” she cried, breathing despondently. Then that single tear turned into a torrent.
Oh, fudge. The tooth fairy didn’t come last night.
“Uh,” I stammered in reply, elbowing my husband awake.
“What happened?” he mumbled.
“The tooth fairy didn’t come last night,” I replied.
“Oh, f—” he yelled. (Let’s just say that fudge was not the first thing out of his mouth.)
How did we let this happen? Quickly I reviewed the night before. Oh, yes! Exhausted by schooling our kids and working at home, we had simply fallen asleep without remembering our tooth-fairy duties.
There were more extenuating circumstances, too. Our daughter’s tooth had been wiggly for just a day. That was extremely short notice. Plus, it had been months since she’d lost her last tooth. We were getting rusty.
Still, the plain, hard truth was that we blew it. The tooth fairy had not come.
We sprang out of bed, soothing our daughter (and each other) with hugs and reassuring words. “There has to be a good reason why she didn’t come,” we told our daughter. In fact, my husband and I, along with friends, family, and the Internet, came up with 10 reasons why the tooth fairy had shirked her duties:
1. The dew was too heavy. Her wings had gotten wet and she couldn’t fly.
2. The regular tooth fairy was on vacation and the substitute tooth fairy didn’t know what she was doing.
3. She couldn’t get to your pillow due to your messy room.
4. Too much traffic. She’ll leave earlier tonight!
5. She was sick.
6. Spreadsheet error. Your tooth was projected to come out on Friday so she wasn’t ready when it came out on Monday.
7. Some tooth fairies like snacks. Leave one out tonight and she’ll probably come.
8. Oh, look, she dropped the money on the floor over there. She must have wanted you to keep your tooth as a souvenir.
9. You probably woke up and scared her away, even if you don’t remember doing that.
10. She ran out of money and will be back tonight. She’s a tiny fairy so she can only carry so much.
My daughter seemed to calm down after she spent the day listening to our reasons why the tooth fairy hadn’t come. All was made right with the world the following morning when, hallelujah, the tooth fairy did come.
Moms and Dads, may your tooth fairy always arrive. In case she doesn’t, remember there’s always a reason why!
Katy M. Clark is a writer who embraces her maternal imperfections at experiencedbadmom.com.
