"I have a loose tooth..."

The first time I ever taught a song to elementary school students, I picked a very educational, melodic, thought provoking song. It was titled "Loose Tooth." It went:

I have a loose tooth,

a wiggly, giggly loose tooth

I have a loose tooth a hangin' by a thread.

So I took this loose tooth,

my wiggly, giggly loose tooth,

Put it 'neath my pillow

and then I went to bed.

Someone took my loose tooth,

my wiggly, giggly loose tooth,

now I have a quarter and a

whole in my head.

Life changing stuff, huh? Because I over-think things and am always trying to find connections with things, I remember thinking about what it would be like to have a child who had a loose tooth.

Well, as of September 13th, I got to find out. What's really funny about the whole thing are the events of that particular day. It was a Sunday. We went to church and then I stayed after lunch to help with the children's choir recordings for the Living Christmas Tree. We were eating pizza when one of the boys left the room quickly. He reappeared moments later to tell us he had lost a tooth. I was curious about how much money kids are getting for their teeth these days (which he informed me he gets $2!!!) thinking I might need to know that next year since Alex is approaching 6 years old. I made the comment that I was not really looking forward to him getting a loose tooth because I figured he was going to freak out. Shortly after that I turned my phone off so it wouldn't make noise during the recordings.

Fast forward an hour and a half. I'm standing at the side doors waiting for a parent to pick up their child when I remember that I didn't turn my phone back on. So, I turn it on and it starts buzzing, letting me know that I have unread email/text message/phone message/etc. I look at it and see that Mike sent me a message. He wrote: "Alex has a loose tooth!" I'm in disbelief. I'm thinking "It's a good thing I asked about how much children get for their teeth these days. I wonder if Alex is freaking out? I once sang a song about loose teeth. Will Alex still eat with his loose tooth?" I know. I really do think too much.

Come to find out Alex was okay with having a loose tooth. He wasn't very excited about wiggling it though. I tried explaining to him that if you wiggle it, it will come out faster. I now wonder if he wasn't wiggling it so it wouldn't come out. Anyway, me being the impatient person I am, I started wiggling it for him. Everyday I would sit with him on the couch and wiggle his tooth. Finally, on Friday, September 18th, I wiggled his tooth and it fell out. Yay!

So I sang the "Loose Tooth" song and he looked at me and said "That is a funny (as in strange) song. I don't want to hear that again Mommy." Maybe Lauren will appreciate my knowledge of children's songs.

We never did put it under his pillow (we just don't want to deal with the whole tooth fairy thing. Not because we think it's horrible, but it just makes one less thing to have to explain to him later. I guess we're just lazy). So we just handed him $2. He put that and the money he got from his grandparents (I don't remember getting money from my grandparents) in his piggy bank.

So in total, a loose tooth can get you $6 if you're a child in this house.