“Yes Laura, There is a Tooth Fairy”

Yesterday, my daughter bought some old Korean coins to take back to Hawaii as souvenirs.  In hopes of swindling her out of an especially valuable coin, I went searching for a large cache of old coins I’d picked up years ago.    While searching, I came across some other treasure I’d squirreled away.

When Laura started losing her baby teeth, she was reluctant to put a tooth under her pillow.  “Dear, who ever is taking this tooth“, accurately describes her level of belief.  She was disappointed when she received the standard two quarters.  As a little girl, Laura’s adult-like skepticism and already razor-sharp sarcasm had me a little worried. I was afraid she’d eventually mature into a modern-day Scrooge, living alone in a large mansion with a multitude of cats.  Fortunately, the “Tooth Fairy” intervened.

Convincing her to participate was even more difficult when she lost her second tooth a few weeks later.  “Fifty cents isn’t worth it!”  After a sermon, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives,” and a long discussion on how our attitude influences those around us, she agreed to try again.   Her touching message overwhelmed even the hard-hearted capitalistic inclinations of the Tooth Fairy, and Laura was elated to find a ten-dollar bill under her pillow.

When another tooth loosened up, Laura enthusiastically worked it free.  Not only did the message now come with love from “A special freind” (sic), but she added a quarter to sweeten the deal.

Laura is flying home to Hawaii this afternoon and I asked her this morning who was picking her up at the airport.  She replied, “Someone will.”  My thanks go out to both the Tooth Fairy and the friend who receives her call from the airport.