Guess who lost a tooth last night?

Her very first one!

I know, you don't see a big gap. That's because there's been a tooth behind the baby tooth since, uh, August.

We've waited and waited. And another sprouted beside it, but still, the little tooth held on for dear life.

Last night, it met its comeuppance. Or, should I say, comeoutance?

We knew the time was drawing near. It was getting looser with each passing day, and starting to cause a bit of pain when she ate. Jason told her that it would probably be out by the end of this week.

And then last night, she came home from the fall festival with a popcorn ball. And she was in her room trying to eat it, and said that a piece of popcorn was stuck in her teeth. When I looked, I could see the blood around the tooth as it sat in the gum, and I knew.

It was time.

I called Jason in and asked him to get the "popcorn" out. He knew just what I was thinking - especially since there was no popcorn in there to begin with, she was just feeling the shifting tooth.

We three sat on her bed, Jason on one side and me on the other. (No, I didn't take pictures! We were leading her to believe that we were removing POPCORN, and what's the big deal in that?) I held her, stroked her head, and prayed quietly that she'd be calm.

After a bit of difficulty getting a grip, the tiny tooth was in her mouth no longer.

She was scared at the bleeding, and relieved that it was out, and excited about the prospect of cash from the Tooth Fairy all at the same time.

(Don't ask me why I care less about my child believing in the Tooth Fairy than I do Santa Claus.)

I got her some water to rinse out with, and Jason put the tooth in a ziploc bag. Man, is he ever smart - I'd have never found that thing under her pillow otherwise!

After some debate amongst the parents as to the TF's going rate these days, one dollar was settled upon. I snuck into her room, and retrieved the bag (I'd asked her to show it to me, and then slid it to the edge of the pillow as she lay it back down.) I slid the dollar bill into its place.

(Jason's not the only one with a brain around here, you know.)

I felt such a sense of completeness as I lay in bed - I was there when that tooth appeared, and I was there when it left.

I was there when she took her first steps, and I was there when she stepped away from me and into the school building.

And one day, whether she knows it or not, I'll be there when she steps into adulthood, and a life of her own.