Little teeth, big repercussions

Monday, on arriving at daycare to pick up Miss L, I found that a monumental moment had occured during the school hours, away from me and my watchful eye.

Yes, at the age of 6, she had lost her first tooth.

As she greeted me at the door with a jump and a finger pointing to the gaping hole in her mouth, she exclaimed, "I LOST MY TOOTH!"

I congratulated her, hugged and kissed her, and took a picture with my cell phone to send to her daddy. She knew he would be excited too.

Since her daddy was working out of town and unable to join in the happy occasion, we invited MiMi and Papa, and Uncle Jason and Aunt Sissy to come over, eat pizza and celebrate this important moment.

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Underneath all of the celebratory happenings I was a little sad.

It felt too official. Almost as if, now, there really was no turning back.

She is growing up. Period.

Almost as sad is the fact that this is, indeed, the beginning of the ugly, awkward period that follows.

(Did I just "say" that?)

(I will NEVER admit to saying that.....)

I can't be alone on this. We have all been there.

The cute, innocence of childhood starts eroding away and in its place is left too large, too crooked teeth and an "I know it all" adolescent that is seven going on seventeen......

OK, maybe that is an exaggeration.

Or, maybe it isn't.

Hopefully, for Miss L, the awkwardness (and the attitude) won't last too long.

Because, we all know, that if she takes after her mother, the awkwardness will follow her well into adulthood and the attitude won't be far behind.

Ahem.

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For now, I choose to focus on the positive and embrace the joy that Miss L felt upon finally losing her tooth. She had, after all, been "wanting to lose a tooth for, like, the last five years."

And, right now, that is all that matters.