There were a few movies throughout my life that were so impactful, I was sad when the credits rolled. I’m reminded of this as I watch my son grow up. His childhood is a movie I certainly don’t want to finish yet, but he’s beginning to ask questions that show signs it is. Spoiler alert for any 10-year-olds reading this.
On Halloween, my son had a routine dentist appointment, during which we found a baby tooth hanging on that he refused to pull out on his own. With some coaxing, he agreed to endure what he thought would be torture as the dentist easily extracted said tooth without him really noticing. As a reward for his bravery, I reminded him that not only would we be trick-or-treating that night, but that the tooth fairy would also be making an appearance by morning.
Excited at the thought of growing a little richer, he seemed to forget the trauma of the dentist chair as I dropped him off at Katie Jo’s house. I’d be heading over there again later in the day for us to don our costumes, so I went home to finish some projects in the meantime. A few hours later, I received a text from Mr. Carter on a school device, showing me a screenshot.
It was an article that said the tooth fairy wasn’t real. Thanks, Internet. I asked if he had been doing some research, to which he replied yes. There was silence until he added, But I don’t believe it.
My philosophy on parenting in these situations is to let them lead the conversation, because once you cross a certain line there’s no going back. I was also texting Katie to alert her as our son was texting me. I then reminded him that not every website is accurate, to which he agreed.
Silence.
A few minutes later he added, Tell me the truth. Ugh.
I frantically texted Katie, saying I wasn’t going to lie to him and she agreed. But she wanted it to be an in-person conversation and said she’d be the one to tell him. I wished her luck and didn’t hear anything else.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at Katie’s house that evening and nothing was mentioned for several minutes. Then Mr. Carter came to sit on my lap and almost matter-of-factly let me know Katie had told him. He didn’t seem upset, but rather confused how she and I were able to place money under his pillow without him waking up. We said that would be his job one day too, but that it wasn’t his job to tell his friends. He understood.
As we walked the dark sidewalks that night, I asked Katie if he put it all together, since once you find out about one … She stopped me and said he tried to begin that conversation, but she interrupted and said to him that was enough information for one day. I laughed. Seems she doesn’t want to see this movie end either.