Feeling Old

Feeling a little old today. If having an 11-year-old son doesn't make you feel old enough, Michael passed a milestone today that has me feeling like he'll be asking for the car keys next week. Yesterday, unknown to us, Michael got a loose tooth at school, managed to pry it loose during the course of the day, and stuck it in his pocket. Came home and didn't say anything. Put it under his pillow at bedtime without saying anything. The next morning, when the tooth was still there, he said "Mom, Dad, you got some 'splainin' to do!" We were totally busted. He devised this entire plan to test if the Tooth Fairy was real, and planned to base his belief on all other mythical creatures that leave things in the middle of the night on this test (it all sounded rather scientific to me). Well, we had no choice but to come clean. We explained traditions that get passed down from parents to children, enhancing the childhood memories of anticipation during Holidays, and easing the potentially traumatic experience of your teeth falling out. We cast it as another step in the long stairway to adulthood. The fact that he discovered this on his own demonstrated problem solving and confidence to question perceived reality, which are important traits to have.

We were worried about backlash and trust issues (after all it's a big brainwashing isn't it?), but he seems OK with it. Santa Claus was the big one. We told him about the difference between taking things literally and figuratively and that the real magic of Christmas is gathering the ones you love around you when it's getting cold and dark outside. We welcomed him into the "circle of trust" and now he has a responsibility to let other kids around him find out on their own and not spoil it for them.

So, life rolls along, and if you're not rolling with it you'll just be watching it roll by. OK, that fulfills my sappy post quota for the month.