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All Categories, Life, People, Ramblings
All Categories, Life, People, Ramblings Wednesday
27Aug
THE MAGIC OF THE TOOTHLESS GRIN...INSPIRATION FOR A LIFETIME
It takes a brilliant writer to remind us of the innocence of a child's toothless grin and the spell it can cast on caring parents. MJ Suttor, a writer at Helium, delivers an unforgettable piece...
***
With a look of alarm, my daughter sits up in bed exclaiming, "My
tooth is loose". She begins the acrobatic twists, squints in
anticipation of the smarting pain as the tooth fights to keep root in
her tiny gum. It is a determined little front tooth that holds on with
every scrap of tenacity it can muster.
Her sixteen year old brother escorts her into the bathroom to coach her. At her age he was an expert in baby teeth extraction, once netting the tooth fairy six teeth in a three week period. He is a now a retired champion.
As her coach, both encouraging and determined, he finds a way to convince his little sister to gut it out, showing her how to twist and fight and struggle with the offending front tooth. As the smarting pain dominates and wins a battle, she squeals jumping both feet into the air in quick nervous leaps and flapping her arms, but she mounts a comeback. She doubles her efforts, digs in through the pain and eventually emerges from the bathroom proudly displaying a marked gap in her grin as the offending baby tooth lies in the palm of her hand. Her brother walks out behind her with a cocky smile as if he just coached an Olympic athlete to a gold medal. High fives all the way around.
My seven year old daughter and her struggle with losing her front tooth is the epitome of my inspiration. I am a comeback parent. I have the luxury of a second chance to raise a child later in life. When she graduates from high school, I will be preparing to retire. My oldest two children were 13 and 9 when their little sister was born. My husband and I were in our late thirties when our surprise was unwrapped in a hospital room.
In these past seven years I have had the unique experience of having children in daycare, middle school and high school all at the same time. Now the oldest has left for college and my husband and I realize how lucky we are to be given the second chance gift of parenthood.
My inspiration is my children. Without them life would be bereft of so many of life's most simple gifts, including the toothless grin of a seven-year-old little girl.
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