I'm A Proud Dumpster Diver

At 9:34 p.m. tonight I officially joined the ranks of dumpster divers - all because of that teensy piece of ivory in the palm of my hand.

That tooth belongs to my youngest son, six year-old Mr. T. It's his first baby tooth and it fell out today. Or rather, he had his brother Mr. O pull it out since the tooth was hanging by a string.

After it came out, T put the tooth in a sandwich bag for safekeeping, and instead of putting that sandwich bag under his pillow, unbeknownst to me, he put it on the coffee table in the living room.

Fast forward several hours later to me doing some tidying up around the house. I happened on a random sandwich bag that, in the dimly lit room, appeared empty.

"I live with a bunch of slobs. They even leave used sandwich bags lying around," I thought to myself, and then chucked the sandwich bag into the trash.

Around bedtime, T started talking about the Tooth Fairy and I reminded him not to forget to put his tooth under his pillow.

"But I can't find it!" he wailed.

"Where did you leave it?" I asked.

"I don't know," he cried. "I put it in a sandwich bag."

"Well, where's the sandwich bag?"

The minute the words were out of my mouth, I knew. Crap. I threw my child's tooth in the trash. And, to make matters ever worse, I'd already taken the trash out and thrown it in the dumpster behind our building. CRAP!

He began to cry because he believed he'd lost it - and I had to be honest with him. "T, I accidentally threw your tooth out in the trash." I explained that I didn't know the tooth was in the bag and I was so very sorry.

"Now the Tooth Fairy will NEVER come!" he wailed.

Never mind that I'm the dang Tooth Fairy... my boy was having a breakdown because I threw out the very first tooth he's lost in almost seven years of existence.

I watched him collapse onto the living room floor sobbing - and I decided right there that I had to make it right. I put on a scruffy pair of running shoes, grabbed a chair and the broom, and headed out back to the dumpster. "You'll never find it," my husband called after me, and I heard him start telling T that the Tooth Fairy could still come even if the tooth was lost.

I have an extremely sensitive nose and I'm pretty germ-phobic, but I put all that aside and climbed in that damn dumpster and started rooting around in the dark trying to identify the trash bag from our apartment.

Fortunately I didn't have to dig around too much. His sandwich bagged tooth was in the second trash bag I checked. THANK GOD!

I jumped out of the awful dumpster, raced up the stairs and kissed my boy's tear-stained cheeks. "Look, mommy found it," I told him as I held out the sandwich bag.

He couldn't believe that I found the tooth but there it was - and I shooed him and the tooth off to bed. He put it under his pillow, but it's not there anymore. The tooth's now in my dresser drawer and a five dollar bill's under his pillow instead. The Tooth Fairy was feeling pretty generous tonight!

I'm adding "dumpster diving" to my list of things I never want to do again. But trust me, if it's for Mr. T (or his brother), I'd do it over again in a heartbeat.

Comments

Anonymous said…
MOM POWER!!!!!!!!!! This is why you are the most powerful and beloved creatures on the planet. LOL!
Liz Dwyer said…
Anonymous,
Haha! Mom Power indeed! Who else but a mom is gonna go after a tooth in a dumpster? ;)
Jameil said…
Awwww! What a good mommy! I would not be having anyone yanking out my teeth when I was his age! Or sticking my hand in anyone's mouth, either! Ah the mother of boys! Lol.
Liz Dwyer said…
Jameil,
I'm with you! I just hoped O washed his hand before yanking T's tooth out! Ick!
Kim Moldofsky said…
Major Good Mom Points for you! Very impressive example of how far we will go for our children.
Liz Dwyer said…
Kim,
Oh yes, I wouldn't get into a dumpster for anybody else! ;)
Unknown said…
You're a super great mom!!!
Heidi Beth said…
This is so sweet I'm almost in happy tears. Love is such a powerful force. I see that little boy (because my younger son lost his first tooth at close to 7 also) crying after he'd waited patiently for SO long. I'm delighted you were willing to climb in a dumpster (total yuck) and actually found his tooth!! When he's 15, this is one of the memories that will remind him that his mom is one of the cool ones and that her love need never be questioned.

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