First Tooth Fairy

I was kind of hoping the most monumental event of our Costa Rica trip was when Elijah accidentally pooped on the bathroom floor.

But alas, this trip will forever be remembered as when Eli lost his first tooth.  The thing had been wiggling for weeks and weeks prior.  But he was surprisingly cool about the fact a bone was going to fall out of his head.  Mostly because he had been tipped off to the Tooth Fairy.

Channeling my beloved father, I informed everyone that when I was a child, The Tooth Fairy gave us a nickel for each bone.  Apparently the going rate is $5 in Ms. D’s class.

Eli had already been racking up quite a nest egg because for every night he doesn’t turn his bed into Lake Michigan he gets a dollar.  And the idea of getting a half a sawbuck and what that can buy from a Costa Rican street vendor had him bloodying apples every morning of vacation trying to get the tooth out.

At the end of breakfast yesterday Diana said, “Eli!  Open your mouth!”

He did and there was a gaping hole where his tooth used to be.  Diana clutched her heart and said, “My baby.”  Luca screamed.  Eli turned white.  He had swallowed the tooth.

Would the tooth fairy know it was gone?  Sure.  Would we need to extract it from his poop for proof? Absolutely not.  Will she know to come to Costa Rica?  Yeah, why not?  Are we really sure we don’t need to extract it from his poop?  Yes.  Really sure.

The day went on and we filled it with beach and pools and a trip to some surf shop featured in a surf movie that wasn’t “Point Break.”  At the end of the evening, we all went to this great taco shop and I drank one too many margaritas. 

We got the boys to bed and turned out the lights.  At 3am, I sprang out of bed like I did on Christmas Eve, remembering my duty as official impersonator of imaginary holiday characters.

I stumbled around the room, shaking off my tequila haze and grasped for some hotel stationary and a few Costa Rican bills.  I scrawled a note that read “Happy Tooth Day!  I’m so glad I found you.  I tried to visit you in Evanston, but Grover told me you were in Costa Rica.  Have a toothy day!”

This morning, Eli found the note and the money and was elated.  He showed Diana the loot and she looked at me while saying, “Wow.  The Tooth Fairy gave you twenty dollars in Costa Rican money.”

I said, “Well the Tooth Fairy could have used a little help with the conversion, I’m sure.”

Eli wondered aloud why the Tooth Fairy’s handwriting looked so familiar and how she could talk to Grover, even though he wasn’t spending the vacation at our house.

I suggested we all go to breakfast so the Tooth Fairy could get some coffee.