The Last Tooth

I'd put my kid to bed, grabbed my lap top and nestled into my own King-sized.  I had work to do for a client.  Fifteen minutes later, my bedroom door flings open, crashing into the wall.  "Mom, I think my tooth is going to come out!"  

Like any good mother who thought their child was in bed, I had jumped into the the middle of a project.  Looking up for two seconds I said, "That's nice, Love," and quickly started typing a few more things.

Almost instantly later,  a freshly pulled tooth was thrust into my face, "I did it!  I pulled my last tooth!"

A surge of guilt and sadness came over me.  I was busy on my computer, doing work that could have waited and I missed it...the last tooth!

That night, when the "Tooth Fairy" placed a silver coin beneath the pillow, she stopped for a second to tearfully feel the moment.  It was the last tooth.  No more Tooth Fairies needed.  That job was over.

I know we can't be there for every significant event in our child's life, try as we may.  Things happen so fast that no matter how purpose filled we make our days, something is going to get by us.  But, when it's in our power to pause and enjoy the moment, let's do it.  When we get so caught up in busy that we forget important, stop.

You never know when it might be the last tooth.