Jeter's First Loose Tooth

Do you remember what it was like when you lost your first tooth?

I do. I was paralyzed by it - or the thought of someone pulling it out of my mouth. I am sure that my Dad's tales of how his dad tied one end of the string to his tooth and the other to a door knob and then slammed the door shut didn't help me in the least. I think he was trying to decrease my anxiety by adding humor but it only intensified it. My parents actually used some thread to get my first tooth out. It was ridiculously loose so that when they tightened the thread the tooth popped out. Of course this was done only after I had the comforts of my teddy bear and blanket and maybe even a glass of milk brought in to me! The reality is that it didn't really hurt but somehow the whole process continued to be a struggle for me. This isn't great considering you have to lose 20 teeth!

Needless to say I don't like loose teeth. Nothing about them is truly appealing to me. I am not fascinated by the wiggling of the tooth and my stomach even kind of churns a little when it is so loose that you kind of see the socket underneath. YUCH!

But I am a mom now. I don't want my boys to be fearful of this - or of anything else for that matter. So when Jeter announced earlier this spring that he had a loose tooth I determined not to talk about my experience but to encourage him as he entered this new adventurous phase in his life. In some ways this has been extremely easy and in others not so much. Looking and smiling at him wiggling his tooth when I wanted to just turn away...that was the 'not easy' part!

Last week Jeter came out of the bathroom and excitedly announced that his tooth was sooooooo loose that he could stick his finger under his tooth!!! I smiled, said "great!" with all the enthusiasm I could muster while my stomach flip-flopped. Then about 30 seconds later I heard him declare "It's out! My tooth came out!" I ran into the kitchen to see the new toothless smile of my sweet, fearless 6 year old.

It was then that I remembered how often we prayed "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind" together. The situation he was walking through at the age of 3 had nothing to do with loose teeth but I cannot help but wonder how much ground was gained in his life back then.

The foundation that was set. Trusting in God was established.

Now I have to prepare myself for another 39...