The Dad Fairy

The jig is up.

We were making cupcakes a few days ago, and I sent Sophie to look for the food coloring.  We were pretty sure that Dad had stashed it with the camping gear for some reason.  After sifting through the still-unpacked remains of last weekend's camping trip in our garage for several minutes, she returned with a fiercely annoyed look on her face and something hidden behind her back.

"What's up?" I asked, "Did you find the food coloring?"

"No!" she snarled, "But I did find MY TOOTH!"  she whipped her hand out from behind her back to reveal the paper Dixie cup which housed the tooth she lost on our camping trip.

"So...what does that mean?" I asked.  Seven years old is a good a time as any to have one's illusions crushed.

"It means that Dad took it, and I am FURIOUS!!"

"Ok... so what does it mean that Dad took it?"  I asked again.

"It means that DAD gave me the dollar." she hissed.

"And what does THAT mean?" I asked feeling confident that she could handle the truth.

"It means..." she pondered as her eyes rolled toward the ceiling, "It means...my Dad's the tooth fairy??"  And with that her anger melted into fits of giggles.

"Yes," I cried, "Your Dad IS the tooth fairy!"  We then discussed why the Moms and Dads of generations past had invented the tooth fairy in order to ease the fears of first time tooth-losers.  Then there was a slightly awkward moment in which I had to admit that we had sort of lied about the tooth fairy.  Sophie assured me that it was okay.  She was not angry about this deception.  Phew!

After a few moments of reflection Sophie also realized that all of the times that the tooth fairy forgot to come, it was actually Mom and Dad who had forgotten to make the tooth transaction, and this for some reason, was particularly hilarious in her little seven year old brain.

Are they still accepting applications for parents of the year?