And just like that, the Tooth Fairy is no more. At least for my daughter. 

Join me through the events that lead up to this moment. 

Isannah was brushing her teeth right before bedtime when she began screaming our names. After the panic wave passed, I yelled out to her to make sure she was fine. Her tooth had fallen out as she was brushing and she was excited for the Tooth Fairy to arrive that night. 

Let me say this first, Isannah has a loft bed. Desk underneath and bed up top. Now that you’ve pictured it, I will continue. She was already under the covers when she asked for her tooth. Each time one of the kids loses their tooth I place it in a Ziploc bag with the date and details. This way it’s easier for me to locate under the pillow in the dark. While I was making my way to her I was pretending to help clean her room by moving objects along the path to her bed. I also situated the piano bench in the best position for me to step on for the money and tooth exchange that night.

I finally stood up on the bench to kiss her goodnight. Before I placed the tooth under her pillow she looked up at me and asked if she could place it there herself. I was beginning to worry that the positioning would be hard for me to get to later that night. That didn’t stop me from allowing her to do it. After she did, I lifted the pillow and moved it slightly to help with my reach later. 

She immediately looked under the pillow as if to see if I took it. Then she placed the pillow back down and looked at me suspiciously. I gave her a hug and turned off the light. 

That night I was more anxious about the tooth and money exchange that I set alarms as reminders. Each time the alarm went off I quietly went upstairs to listen at the door. There was still a lot of movement so I tiptoed back downstairs and knew that just wasn’t the time. 

I pushed off going to her room long enough as it was already after midnight. As I was making my way upstairs I stopped on the main floor to remove my earrings, FitBit (in case the light went on) and any other jewelry that could possibly make any noise. Because my nerves were getting the best of me I yanked one of my bracelets which got caught and busted. Beads were rolling loudly all over the table and some landed on the floor. In sheer panic I layed on the table to prevent them from rolling and falling as they were scattering all over the place. Once I collected them all and took a breath I sat down at the table to regain composure and build up my courage once again. 

I quietly opened the door and followed the path that I made leading to the piano bench earlier. The loudest noise came from the popping of my knees as I extended my leg to the bench. There was immediate rustling in the bed. I had to balance while in a squatting position on the bench until Isannah stopped moving. My legs were beginning to shake and I was trying really hard not to panic. I extended my arm and tried to feel for the bag while letting the money fall wherever it wanted. I didn’t notice at the time that the bench wasn’t stable. As it wobbled to one side I had to grip the top of her bed frame. I felt Isannah move above me. She seemed so close as if she was staring right at me but I couldn’t see a damn thing. I found it. I got the bag and pulled my arms down with the bag in hand. I was about to get down when I heard more movement. Back to the squatting position on the bench. I felt like I held that position for over an hour because my legs could not stop shaking. Finally everything was quiet again and out the door I went. At that point, I was so nervous I couldn’t shut the door completely as I was really afraid to make any other noises. 

I quietly ran downstairs to share my experience with my husband. I thought I did it. I was done for the night but could no longer fall asleep. The adrenaline rush was keeping my mind and heart racing but I had to get some sleep. 

The sound of George Jones’ He stopped loving her today was playing as my alarm. I slowly got to my feet and walked to Isannah’s room. The lights are usually still off and she’s still sleeping but not this morning. I noticed the light beneath the door. When I opened her door I saw her laying on her bean bag chair reading a bit. Before I could wish her a good morning she said, “I saw you.” At first I didn’t know what she was talking about. I looked at her with confusion. She repeated herself adding I saw you take my tooth. I didn’t know what to say. I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach. 

I just stared at her and watched as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. She was crying because I let her believe there was a Tooth Fairy all this time. She couldn’t believe how stupid she felt. I tried to explain about the magic of it all and it was fun to believe in something special and to share it with her brother. I hugged her and with a sigh of relief I said, this was getting harder and harder to do because of that bed. She started to giggle a little and we spoke some more before she mentioned her brother. She wasn’t sure if she would tell him or not. I told her it was up to her but it may be nice if he continues to believe until it’s his time. 

As we made our way downstairs, Isannah pulled me aside and said she wasn’t going to tell her brother. 

February 2, 2022 the day the Tooth Fairy died.