Tooth Lost

Luke lost his first baby tooth last week. It was a huge relief to him as he was no longer, "the last first grader in the world that hadn't lost a tooth." We actually ended up pulling the tooth against its will as it seemed determined to stay in place despite its replacement pushing up behind it. It had been loose for a while but hadn't been getting any looser. Luke was brave and determined as I pulled and then he finished it off as once it was close. (The dentist actually wanted to pull both the front bottom two teeth last summer but we opted to wait and see if they would come out on their own. Why pay $500 [after insurance] for a procedure that you can do yourself?)

Luke wrote a letter to the tooth fairy requesting to keep his baby tooth after she had taken a look at it and if she could still please leave him a little something. She obliged and left him a dollar and allowed him to keep his tooth, which is in a little baggie on the fridge currently.

The whole thing has me a little nostalgic. See, I remember when that little tooth came in and broke up his huge toothless smile. I loved watching his mouth fill in with those little pearls as his smile grew. Now the bigger teeth are pushing the smaller ones out of their way and I can't help but see some symbolism here. In the past month or so I have really seen him leaving the little kid Luke behind. He's becoming more and more big kid with each passing day. (A big) Part of me wants to just hold on and make him stay small. I want to hold onto the little boy who told me everything and consulted me at every pass. I want that smile full of perfect little baby teeth to stay just how it is.

But then I see what a sweet and wonderful big kid he is becoming and I can celebrate that as well. I can embrace his growing independence as he now walks himself to and from school. I can enjoy the hours he spends reading to himself (in his head!) and to his brothers. I can smile at him as he and his friends come to me for building materials and not building plans. I can appreciate the way that he plays big brother and peacemaker to the two younger one in a whole new and very mature way. I can love him as he learns to need me less because that is, after all, what parenting is all about. Big kids are wonderful too.

Here's to growing up!