Tooth on the Loose

Since I last posted anything on the LWG blog, I have been to New York and back twice, my brother and I gave my dad away at his wedding and I traveled to the UK to meet a long-lost uncle for the first time. All in all, it's been an interesting summer. To cap it all, yesterday, Zohar discovered her first loose tooth.

The fact that this is a big deal to my five-and-a-half-year-old will not be a surprise to anyone who remembers the thrill of wiggling a tooth until it was ripe for harvesting by the Tooth Fairy. Despite the fact that a loose tooth leads to its possessor sticking fingers in mouth dozens of times a day, it is a badge of maturity -- the grade-school equivalent of needing a shave.

For a parent, the filling in of a baby's gummy smile with hard, shiny little nubs is already quite an adjustment. The endearing gaps left by fallen baby teeth are filled all too soon with oversized teeth that shout "You should have chosen the Gold dental plan!"

According to J. M. Barrie, one of the things that made Peter Pan so enchanting was that he still had all his baby teeth. Now, as she grows up, Zohar will be dropping pearls before Time.