FAIRY TALES

My great niece Maddie pulled another one of her teeth this past week. She's one of these gutsy kids who delights in constantly messing with the little wigglers until they finally pop out. She was very careful not to let this one get away from her; a previous tooth, extracted at the breakfast table, bounced into her little brother's cereal bowl and had to be retrieved from his own mouth in a dramatic recovery. We wouldn't want to miss out on the bounty from the Tooth Fairy.

I think I've probably blogged before that I lost my first two teeth by biting my father's demanding hand, and my first grade teacher, Mrs. Rankin, yanked out several more of them. One that wasn't loose became the victim of a swinging baseball bat when I got too close to it while playing catcher during a school recess. Others had to be pulled before I got braces, to make room for more. And then when the braces finally came off, a few teeth unexpectedly came out with them. Then there were the impacted wisdom teeth.....

I periodically have dreams that I'm spitting out teeth until my mouth is bereft of them. I don't like these night time encounters, of course, and I'm always soooooo relieved when I wake up, go to the mirror, and find that my chompers are still in place--even though many of them are capped and bridged and filled to the max. I would hate to add up all the $$$$ that Mama Bore and I have paid to various dentists over the years. It's been a big bite out of the bank account, for sure.

I hope the Tooth Fairy is generous to Maddie and rewards her well for her brave, solo, pulling efforts. If not, Maddie can just chew out Madame Fairy with what teeth she has left.