Into the Future


Recently my eldest daughter, B., started losing her baby teeth. She is six years old and has a flare for drama. The first tooth she lost was the lower front left (you know one of the first a baby gets). This tooth was so loose that we could see the new tooth growing behind it. She was reluctant to have it pulled and kept hoping that it would come out on its own. Finally, she came home from school and it was dangling by one lonesome root. I told her that we would have to pull it. She agreed.

Isabella and I went into my bathroom and stood next to the sink. As I tried my best to grab her tiny baby tooth she screamed in pain, "Ouch, No Ma'ma!" I had barely touched it.

"Well, B. It's gonna have to come out." I said firmly.

"Okay." she agreed.

I grabbed the tiny tooth as delicately as I could and began to twist and pull.

"No, stop Ma'ma." She was crying this time.

I tried to explain, "B., I am going to have to touch it if you want me to pull it." Then, I suddenly had an idea. I found some baby Ora-gel and coated her gum and tooth. Five minutes later, I tried to pull it again.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Okay. I will try not to cry..." she said with my fingers in her mouth.

I began to twist and she began to whine and cry with her eyes squeezed tightly.

"Stop! is it out yet? Stop! Is it? Ouch... Stop." she begged.

"B.." I said. "Look, it's already out."

I looked up to see a huge grin on B.'s face as she squealed and jumped with delight. She was so happy and proud that she had finally lost a tooth. The loss of a tooth was a milestone for her, a declaration of maturity.... She was bigger than yesterday. I understood then that it was truly a turning point. In my hand I held the tiniest tooth I had ever seen. I was surprised by my emotions, and I had to fight back tears as I saw the adult tooth peering up through the swollen gum.

Maybe I think too much, but I realized at that moment that the tooth I was now looking at is the one she will have for the rest of her life. She will one day be 31 and (Lord willing) I will be looking at that same tooth. It was like seeing into the future... A future that I have little control over.

I can help her as she grows. I can help pluck away the old childhood things as she matures, but I cannot stop her from changing before my eyes (nor would I want to). I am so blessed to be able to share these moments with her. I hope that one day she looks back as fondly as I do.