It's happened to all of us...that moment of panic when you realize the "Tooth Fairy" forgot to visit. You don't want your child to be disappointed, so how do you explain the mysterious emptiness under the pillow?
Recently, a few Children's Mercy employees shared their best stories.
What delay?
My oldest child, Sawyer, lost a tooth when I was between working three nights in a row. Since I wasn't home for bedtime that night, or the next, it took three days for the "tooth fairy" to finally make it to our house to collect his tooth and leave a surprise in exchange. Naturally, because she felt so guilty for the delay, she left a note, explaining she had been sick which caused the delay, and some extra cash. Needless to say, Sawyer didn't mind the delay in the slightest! - Kadie
Sumo saga
One night, the “Tooth Fairy” failed to wake up. So, the next night, she left a vivid description of her lesson in patience, along with my son’s $1. She carefully apologized, along with a detailed drawing, that she had been delayed in Japan the night before because her delicate wing had been stuck beneath the son of a Sumo wrestler. It seems he had quickly rolled over as she attempted to place his $1 beneath his pillow, trapping her. And while it was a harrowing night, she waited, and eventually he did roll off her wing, freeing her to resume her duties. But, by that time, she did not have enough time to travel from Japan to Lee’s Summit, Missouri, to claim his tooth and deliver his $1 before he had to get up for school. She regretted the delay, but she did assume he would completely understand… So, that morning, I (Mom) woke to my excited son Wesley who proudly showed me his letter and $1. We pulled out the globe (which is from a yard sale and old and outdated), found Japan (which is still in the same place despite the old globe), and wondered at the magnitude of the job of the sweet little Tooth Fairy. So today, my 22-year-old son still has the letter and the drawing. Every once in a while, he comes across the letter again and shares it with me, and we get another good laugh. Good memories! – Sally
That darn cat
I was completely exhausted after a long day at work. I fell asleep and completely forgot about the Tooth Fairy! She was so disappointed when she woke up, so I had to think fast. I quickly composed a letter from the Tooth Fairy and then "found" it on her dresser. The letter explained how the Tooth Fairy had tried to visit on two separate occasions that night. The first time, her little sister woke up and she had to hide quickly. The second time, the Tooth Fairy was chased away by the cat. She could only get to the dresser where the cat couldn't reach her, and that's why she left the letter there. The Tooth Fairy promised to try again the next night. She thought it was absolutely hilarious that the cat chased the Tooth Fairy, and thankfully, the Tooth Fairy did not fall asleep again the next night! - Lorrissia
Glitter to the rescue
The tooth fairy had trouble flying in a windy snow storm, you know - because she's so tiny. But the good news is the tooth fairy crafted a super cute letter explaining the situation and left it the next day with a couple glitter coated dollar bills to make up for the inconvenience to my six-year-old daughter. – Tracy
Making change
Just a few years ago (ha!) when I was about 4 or so, I woke up the morning after losing one of my front teeth and tossed the pillow off my bed to see if the Tooth Fairy had made her way to my house. She had! She had! And not only had she found our house in little Coffeyville, Kansas, but she somehow had flown into my room without me waking up. I was SO excited. I ran into my mom's room, jumping and yelling and waving my Tooth Fairy gift! "Look, look, look! The Tooth Fairy came! The Tooth Fairy came! And she gave me 20 dollars!" I was jumping up and down so much that I didn't really notice the funny look on my mom's face or wonder why she wanted to look more closely at my $20 bill. She then instantly began to weave a magical story of how wonderful the Tooth Fairy was and much very much she loved me. So much, in fact, that the Tooth Fairy was COUNTING ON ME to perform a very important job for her. Seems that the Tooth Fairy, while flying across the globe the night before, had run out of $1 bills and had only a $20 bill when she showed up at our house. So she left it, but would need me (ME!) to help her make change so she could give lots of other girls and boys their $1 gifts the next night. Why, yes, that makes total sense, my little 4-year-old mind thought! The next thing you know, I happily and proudly allowed my mother to take the $20 and give me a $1 bill in return so she could leave the change for the Tooth Fairy, who would stop by later that night on her way to Switzerland or somewhere. STORY UPDATE: I never became an Accountant. – Vikki