Roof Rats

A few weeks ago we were talking about tooth fairy traditions from around the world, and stumbled upon Haiti's tradition of throwing the tooth on the roof for the rats to bring you a new one.  Since my little thinker knows the truth behind The Tooth Fairy, he thought this sounded a lot more exciting than putting it in a little pillow.  Recently, as in the last time he lost a tooth a few months ago, the little baby tooth sat in my bathroom cabinet.  I couldn't throw it away, because that's not what moms do... we instead attach  meaning and sentiment to inanimate objects.  I distinctly remember a small bag FULL of baby teeth that my dad kept in his bathroom cabinet, and knowing his hoarder-like tendencies... it is probably still there.  That seems a little Criminal Minds, does it not?  Think about it... it is a bag of human teeth... in your cabinet.  Gross.  Okay, back to the tooth in my cabinet.  I thought to myself, why in the world am I saving this.  There is no reason.  I threw it away, in the regular old trash.  It felt good.  So when we discovered this Haitian tradition, we all decided that when we lived in Haiti we would do this instead of the tooth fairy visiting in the middle of the night.  Well, when Noah unexpectedly pulled a tooth due to a vigorous flossing session, he decided to toss it on to the roof.  This would have been a great memory for him, had the tooth fairy, or rat, or whatever, actually shown up with the money.  The Tooth Fairy Rat told him she would still bring him a few coins.  But she forgot.  Whimsy is lost when you're just doling out cash to your seven year old the next morning, and yet, he didn't seem to mind.

By the way... that isn't a joint in my baby boy's mouth, I promise.