Well, it finally happened. Austin lost his first tooth. At 7 1/2 years old. We wondered if this day would ever come. Austin waited, sometimes impatiently, as friend after friend lost tooth after tooth. His best friend Christian has lost about 8 teeth now. It didn't make it easier that in First Grade, his Weekly Reader at school asked students to fill in how many teeth they had lost. His had a big, fat goose-egg. He was so embarrassed. Every 6 months when he went to see Miss Emily at the dentist's office, he'd jump into the chair and say, "Miss Emily, I think I have 1 or 2 loose teeth." She'd check, shake her head, and explain to him that it might take a while, and that that was perfectly OK. Miss Emily would show him his x-rays that revealed every single permanent tooth, working their way closer and closer to the surface. But it wasn't happening fast enough for my boy. I myself have been OK with the wait. I hated losing my teeth, so much so that the last few had to be pulled. It just creeps me out. Besides, all those permanent teeth on the x-ray? They're coming in as crooked as can be. I know there are braces in Austin's future. I made sure to get some good pictures this summer, before those pretty baby teeth go away.
So this is the first-tooth story. Austin got into the car from school last Friday saying that he had a loose tooth. Sure he did. I've heard that more times than I can count. But when I asked him to wiggle it for me, it did. Get out! And there was a nearly full-grown permanent tooth directly behind the loose one. I started wondering what kind of parent lets their child grow a huge permanent tooth without even noticing. Austin was so excited that we called every immediate member of our family at least once over the weekend to let them know. He even insisted on posting on Uncle Ron's Facebook page: "This is Austin. I have a loose tooth!!!!!" Uncle Ron responded: "That's great. Don't forget to put it under your pillow. I hear the tooth fairy in your neighborhood leaves $100s." Thanks so much, Uncle Ron. Your baby that's due in June? He or she will receive a drum for his or her first Christmas. Count on it. Anyway, I had my dental checkup on Monday. I had strict instructions to inform Miss Emily, which I did. She sent him home a prize from the prize wagon. Miss Emily said to just wiggle it a bit every day, and eventually it would come out, and the permanent tooth would move into its spot. So I told him this. He did lots of wiggling. Tonight we sat down to supper. We had pork chops, green beans, and corn on the cob. In the middle of dinner, Austin said, "My tooth is gone! My tooth is gone!" I was terrified that he had swallowed it, so I went into search mode. I found it right there on top of his corn. Kendall started crying, because she didn't know what was going on. Austin started pumping his fists. You would have thought it was Christmas morning around here. He wanted to tell everybody he could. Granddaddy happened to be here to witness this joyful event. Austin called Grandma. He posted on Uncle Ron's Facebook page. He wanted to call his teacher, but I assured him it could wait until tomorrow morning. I'm sure everyone else will get a call tomorrow night. The best part was when we explained to Kendall that it would be a few years before she lost any teeth. She said she didn't want to lose any. Austin said, "Kendall, you know the best part? You'll feel like such a big girl when you lose one. I feel like a big boy now!"
Needless to say, we put a very happy boy to bed tonight with a tooth under his pillow. He is a little worried that the permanent tooth is there. He'd prefer for there to be an empty hole, like a badge of honor, but he's still over the moon. Our little boy is growing up. And it's all happening a little too quickly for this mama.
