Tooth Fairy

My kids still believe in the tooth fairy. Is that a lie? Hmmm...The Santa-thing I handled by explaining that Santa Clause was a feeling, a childhood innocence, the spirit of giving...and while, no, he wasn't a physical man who comes down our chimney, he is the warmth we keep in our hearts to remind us that it's better to give than receive. Luckily, the kids were old enough to understand. I also warned them that once you denounce Santa, you are losing that childlike quality that we all should try to keep way into adulthood.

The Easter bunny was difficult, though. How do you explain the giant white bunny-prints in the backyard (Mom with shaving cream) that we all saw with our own eyes two years ago? How do you tie candy and eggs and baskets to something real? A few years back, my first Easter after my divorce (I was struggling to make ends meet), I pinched pennies and scraped together what I thought were great baskets for the kids. Wasn't what I had wanted to give the kids, but times were tough. Savannah looked at her loot, and mind you she was younger then, said, "I've seen better Easters." That cut me to the bone, I started crying, and the jig was up. "You mean, YOU'RE the Easter bunny?" The kids looked at me with their big eyes, wide with their new knowledge, and I nodded. Savannah ran up the stairs, crying, "Everything I've believed is a lie!"

It's funny now, but then it was traumatic. So Santa and the Bunny gone, the Tooth Fairy is the last mythical creature in our house. Savannah is about to turn fourteen, but Parker and Kiefer are still in tooth-fairy years, and it pains me to think that they will soon grow out of them soon.

It got me to thinking, WHO comes up with these stories? Is there someone in a cubicle somewhere concocting these childhood myths. And what other lies do we tell our kids? Brussel sprouts are yummy. If you cross your eyes, they'll stay that way. Swim after eating and you'll get cramps.

And what kind of lies do we tell as adults? I'm not talking about the biggies, rather the tiny little lies, the seemingly innocent ones, that we let sneak by. No, that dress doesn't make you look fat. Yes, honey,I LOVE action movies. He will call. No, the chicken isn't burned.

Someone told me last week that people don't want their friends to be honest; people want to surround themselves with friends who will tell them what they want to hear. Is this true? I certainly hope not. I think my friends are honest, I try to be honest, and while we all may sugar-coat a little (Hurting feelings is not fun!), for the most part we tell the truth.

I challenge myself today to tell the truth, to say it in a nice way, but to say it. Love is truthful. But, if you all don't mind, I think I'll hold onto the tooth fairy a little bit longer.