The Tooth Fairy

This will make more sense if you have already ready My Letter to Santa. It's Tooth Fairy week. And conversations continue about Christmas gifts. This week I've learned that in Will's class he is the only one without an iPod touch, and Liam knows kids at school younger than him who have an iPod touch. Oh my goodness, the looks cast as these facts were laid out... eeks. Like glass splinters.

Late last week, Will’s first molar fell out. He put it in an envelope. He’s not a fan of licking envelopes, so I suggested he could just tuck in the flap. He wanted it sealed; he braved it and licked it. The next morning, he had $5 in the envelope. I thought the Tooth Fairy was a bit generous, but this was the first double-tooth to be lost in our house. Will watched me closely as he showed me the Tooth Fairy had tucked in the envelope flap. I shrugged, not realizing until noon that this may have been a small accusation.

Over the weekend, Liam lost a tooth while eating an apple on a 2-hour car ride to Maine. I stuck it in a baggie that was first used for goldfish. Then I carried it around in my purse for two days until we remembered it needed to go under Liam’s pillow. I gave him an envelope, and he decided to write a note to the Tooth Fairy: “can I have a ipod touch?” I only said, “I don’t think she has ever brought you anything but money.”

The next morning I awoke very early and went in to check on the boys. The envelope was still there with the tooth in it!! I scurried out of their bedroom. Thinking Liam must be last on her route that night, I took an early shower to give the Tooth Fairy a clear path to that tooth.

Liam came downstairs with a bit of a snarl. “There’s a dollar in it, and she left a note: ‘Ask Santa.’ That’s what YOU said, Mom!”

“No… I said I didn’t think you should ask Santa for a gift that expensive.”

“Well, the Tooth Fairy lives with Santa, so she knows what to do.” I’m sure the Tooth Fairy was trying to help, but she obviously doesn’t know this little lawyer like I do.

Would you believe Will lost a molar last night? I handed him an envelope. He decided to try another tact, with mostly correct grammar. “Can I have an iPod touch? I will share it with my brother.”

Well, here I am up early again. I slipped into the boys’ room to check on them and saw the envelope sticking out from under the Will’s pillow, flap open. I had to see if there was an iPod touch there too. Using Will’s reading light, I first shined it on the envelope. I looked no further after seeing the words, “Not from me!” in the same handwriting as “Ask Santa” from two nights ago.

Whew. Maybe they do live together and Santa shared the conversation he had overheard before the Tooth Fairy made her third voyage to the Malcolm house this week.

Happy Hump Day.

Cub Scout Camp Highlights

The annual fall Cub Scout trip was last Saturday night. Since our tent is a tight fit for three, I went for the afternoon and evening but volunteered to sleep in my own bed at home. From the comfort of my mattress, cotton sheets, soft blanket, and comforter, I reflected back on events from that evening and past scout camping trips. Last year, Bill was in China for the fall camping trip, so I went on my own with the boys. Friends helped me set up the tent. At 3 a.m. it started to pour with rain -- there had only been a 10% chance of rain in the forecast. While Will was sound asleep at 6 a.m., Liam and I were wide awake listening to the rain pellets bounce onto our tent. "Mom, it's like we are in a giant popcorn popper!" We use the old-fashioned whirly-gig popper to make popcorn at home and the sound was just like the kernels hitting the lid as they popped open. We giggled as our imaginations swept us into that whirly-gig. Until we had to break down camp in the rain. Outside the popcorn popper.

This year, Will and Liam took halogen flashlights with them that they had gotten from Bill's family. Amazingly powerful, the beam lit up the very tops of the tall fir trees around the campfire. From behind me, Liam shone the light on my head. "Whoa, Mom, has grey hair!" I'm not due for a color correction for two more weeks. Were the grey threads sparkling like diamonds under the halogen microscopic light?

Will found a new walking stick and carved his initials and markings into it with his knife. He earned his whittling badge a couple years ago so could carry and use his pocketknife on the trip. Liam also wanted to whittle but hasn't earned his badge yet. Bill loaned him his Swiss army knife and sat next to him as he broke the Cub Scout rule. At dusk I asked Liam if he needed a light, "No, I'm good, Mom. I can see just fine." We need to work on that badge.

While hiking through the forest, Liam stepped in horse poop. Bill told him those were called "road apples." The boys found that term hilarious. The next day, Liam created a verb out of the noun, "Hey, I guess I'm pretty healthy! I road appled today!" Impressed with his grammar creativity but wish the topic was different.

Happy Hump Day!

My Letter to Santa

Dear Santa, You have been Santa for much longer than I have been Mom, and I need some advice.

Two years ago, Will and Liam wanted the LEGOS Death Star for Christmas.  This chatter started in early November.  They knew that was a bit much for us to spend, so they decided to ask you for this elaborate LEGOS kit.  I don’t know if your elves churn out LEGOS at Christmas or if you contract with LEGOS, but either way I was uneasy with them asking you for a $400 LEGOS set.    I waited until late-November, hoping the Death Star conversation would quiet down.  But it just got bigger and bigger.  Plans were in the making for where they would build it.  The LEGOS catalog was ragged like the toy section in the old Sears catalog that my sister, my brothers and I would wish from every year.

During one of these wishful conversations, I had to hit the brakes for your sake.  “Boys, I have been thinking a lot about this; I just don’t feel right about it.  I need to tell you what I’m thinking.  That’s a very big gift to ask for.  I don’t think you’ve ever gotten anything that big from Santa.  Have you?”

No.

“Some kids just ask for food or clothes.  So asking for this seems a little over the top.”

Hmm.

“Think about what Santa has given you in the past.  Maybe you could put LEGOS gift cards on your wish list to Santa.  It’s a little strange to ask for a gift card, but you could explain what you want and why you have a gift card on your wish list.  You could let family know you want gift cards too.  Maybe you could use some of the money you’ve saved throughout the year toward buying it.  Just something to think about…”

And with that, the Death Star idea dwindled over a few days and was eventually snuffed out.

This year, Liam wants an XBOX360.  I’m balking a bit, so he’s determined to ask you for it.  And he has threatened me with an out-of-the-corner-of-his-eyes look and the sneaky words, “If Santa doesn’t bring it, I’ll know he’s not real.”  Will flinched.

Santa, here I draw the line.  You don’t threaten Mom.  You don’t threaten Santa.  It’s just not cool.  So, you may get a letter requesting an XBOX360.  If you do, let’s talk before you load the sleigh.

Love,

Linda

The Suitcase

On Wednesday Bill returned from a two-week trip around the world: England, China and Indonesia. He proudly takes one small bag on these marathon trips and sends his laundry out in China. His last stop this trip was five days in the coffee fields of Sumatra. Following four flights over 30 hours that finally brought him home, we emptied the contents of the bag directly into the washer. Bill closed up the bag and put it in our closet -- for me to use on a short trip this weekend.

At 5:00 this morning I opened up the bag and remembered that I love Dancing with a Foreign City Slicker. Sometimes I forget the details in that first paragraph, and so does Bill....