a jar of fairy dust left at the party 3.5" x 3.5"This is a little painting I made in honor of the last few weeks of summer. I was thinking of things ending when I made it.
Speaking of the end of things, Chick is officially ending her time as a person with all of her baby teeth. She has her first really, really loose tooth and another kind of loose tooth. Since she is a kid who tends to feel worried and anxious when any little thing feels different, having these teeth "floating around in [her] mouth" (as she describes it) has made her a bit on edge. I'm proud of her for holding it together while side-chewing her strips of toast. There was a time during her toddler years where I couldn't even imagine her being remotely okay with the possibility of teeth falling out of her head. Now, she happily tells people about them in stores and on the playground - pushing her tooth as far forward as possible, making those people squint and feel a bit queasy.
It is a little heartbreaking for me, though, watching her buck up and face the unknown, all the while trying to make lemonade out of lemons. "I would like the tooth fairy to bring bring me a band leader set with a hat, whistle, and baton," she says. The next minute she runs to me, whimpering, worried that it will hurt when they actually fall out.
And, I can't promise that it won't.
This is her journey, and she is trying to be brave. I would lose the tooth for her if I could, but that just isn't how it works. There will be many other journeys; kindergarten is just around the corner. I've taken to consoling myself with lots of local frozen yogurt, gently telling myself that I'll be okay on her first morning of kindergarten. I know she'll be okay. But, walking her up the path to school and watching as she finds her own way into a new community is part of my journey, and I don't feel ready yet. I guess I should just follow her baton twirling lead.
Boy, do I want Chick to always pine away for things like band leader sets. And, for the record, if it were me I totally would have asked the tooth fairy for new pens.
xo e
