Semi-Annual Fall Poem

Re-posting of my autumn poem -
Falling From Me
By Dawn Reid

O leaves that fall from our tree.
Staying one more week, frozen in time and frost.
Your peak is pretty as can be,
But in the wind and fluttering you are lost.

To my little ones I request the same,
Stay for me, young and innocent a little longer.
Alas they do not listen either,
Growing always older and taller.

Tooth Fairy Learning Curve...

Ashton, I hope that by the time you can read this, if you ever do, the truth doesn't stun you about your parents lack of basic parenting skills or the fact there is no Tooth Fairy.

Last week Ashton lost his 1st tooth. Bottom right. As exciting as that was for us all, the real story here is the faulty tooth fairy.

Ashton was so excited about thoughts of a winged being putting some cash behind his pillow he couldn't fall asleep. As we waited for a safe time to enter his room and swap tooth for money, Paul drifted off to dreamland. Around 11pm I was able to slip in, take the tooth and place $5 under his pillow. Apparently, at some point in the night, Ashton tossed and turned knocking the money off his bed.

Then, around Paul's normal time to go to work, 3am-ish, unaware I'd already played Tooth Fairy, he entered Ashton's room. According to Paul he spent a fair amount of time rooting around Ashton's room looking for the tooth and not seeing the missing money I'd already placed there. During this time Ashton apparently partially woke up, so Paul stashed the cash and went to work.

How did I know about what happened with Paul/Ashton? The next morning Ashton comes racing down the stairs to proudly show me his $5 and tell me he saw the Tooth Fairy. "Mommy" he says "I saw the Tooth Fairy last night...well at least half of it. There were no wings, only grey and white striped shorts like Daddy's. I think Daddy is the Tooth Fairy." I was quickly tried to cover the snafu by telling a white lie around Daddy coming to check on him to make sure he was asleep. I then VERY quickly threw out the suggestion of immediately going to pick out a new toy for his Tooth Fairy money to be spent on. I shamlessly admit this was to continue distracting him and hope my son still holds on to what little bit of his childhood essence his too mature self possesses.

By the way, he already has a 2nd loose tooth!

Also, side note, Ashton was able to get the $20 suitcase to hold his Hot Wheel cars as a result of a combination of this mix up and his kindness. With only $5, he asked if he could get the $20 toy he'd been eyeing. When asked where his piggy bank money was to cover the spread, he told me it was empty. "Empty?" I said raising an eyebrow and picturing candy or stickers he most likely blew it on. "Yes Mommy, I gave all my money to kids with lukemia" (fundraiser at his school) he replied quietly. "Well" I told him, "maybe I could help with the difference, just this once." And of course Kate got the purple baby doll and stroller she'd been eyeing. (Teeth are one costly body part.)

My True Story - There Is Good In This World

I just came across this old email I had written to myself, Dec. 2007, before I began blogging and wanted to share. Enjoy, it's my true story.

Dawn's Story:
As a sleep deprived mother of a 1 year old and 2 year old, I have to admit I'm not always at my peak awareness. On Sunday, December 2, 2007 after a meeting for work I stopped for a quick bite at a fast food restaurant on the way home. Not paying attention while calling my husband on my cell phone, I left the restaurant minus my purse (which I had left on the back of my chair.)

Now, everyone cringes at the thought of loosing their wallet and/or purse, but this was a particularly bad incident due to the fact I had stowed the wedding set my father had given my mother (and was now mine) as well as the small diamond and peridot necklace my husband had managed to afford on our meager income last Christmas in there. (Apparently, due to the high stress in my life, I had been breaking out in a rash where the white gold had been touching my skin, and I was planning on seeing a jeweler about it the next day). After arriving home 30 minutes later and realizing what I had left, I broke out in tears and called the restaurant. As I had feared, the purse had not been spotted by the staff or turned in. I then called the police and the wonderful female officer that was put in touch with me went immediately to the site and checked around. Still no purse. Many tears later over the course of two days, I came to realize that while the loss was a terrible one, my marriage was still very much intact in spite of the stress of our lives and that is what mattered most.

But then, that Wednesday, there came a knock on our front door and a man stood there with a handwritten note with a name and a phone number of a man to call saying only his boss had sent him. When my husband called the number, it turned out to be the boyfriend of the woman who had found my purse! When I spoke to Cheryl, she said she had seen my purse at the Wendy’s, looked into it and noticed the wedding set first. She then told me a story of how her wedding set had been stolen when she was 25 years old and how she had never gotten over it and wanted to be sure I got my set back. She then asked if I would meet her at the restaurant so she could return the purse. I was too scared to ask about the jewelry, afraid it was not there. Still, not believing my ears I rushed my family into the car stopping only at Costco to pick up 2 dozen yellow roses and $100 in cash. While we waited I penned a thank you note telling her how much the gesture meant to me and how she had set the example I hoped to live by for the rest of my days. Just as I finished she pulled up in the passenger side of an older model car with some body damage, a woman my age driving. Cheryl's daughter handed me my purse through the window as tears came to my eyes. Cheryl insisted that I check the contents of the purse while she watched with pride in her eyes saying that everything should be there and she had carefully placed the jewelry in a little baggy, then into a side compartment. My thoughts raced – the set should have been given quietly to her daughter, pawned at a shop to get money to repair their car, sold on ebay.com to earn Christmas gift money…but it wasn’t. I will forever be grateful to Cheryl and family and while we aren’t what I would consider “friends” she will be in my thoughts and prayers always and a part of my family history and lore for generations to come.