Awareness of the precious passing of time

Well it finally happened. My dramatic flair... AKA Brycelynn... lost a tooth. She has been waiting for this moment since she turned five....the DAY she turned five. Somehow, in her young mind, she made the assumption that it happened that day. When it didn't, there was ultimate disappointment, but she pressed on. Wasn't long until she formulated a new plan of when it would happen. She determined it would be the first day of Kindergarten. That bought us about 10 months of acceptance. But then that day came and went and no tooth loss... not even a LOOSE one and sadness crept in once more. I did what every good mom would do. I consoled her while giving her the pep talk that everything happens in PERFECT timing according to God's GOOD plan if we just relax and trust Him. But finally, a loose tooth appeared in the mix. It has been hanging by a thread for days, but on Sunday, it was barely there. She allowed her dad to "feel" how loose it was, and without her even knowing, he had it in his hand in a second flat. Ahhhh the joy! She has walked around with her lips parted ever since making sure every friend, foe, and even stranger is aware that it is gone. It happened!

From there we enjoyed the appearance of the tooth fairy in the night... she is almost sure she SAW the tooth fairy, though I have my doubts because I was there and she was OUT! :) We had the early morning squeals of delight that her lost tooth brought about REAL money! And we have discovered that now that one has come out, it appears four to five others are not far behind. She may very well go from impatiently waiting for what felt like eternity for one to finally come out, to being full fledged snaggle toothed in a matter of days! I wonder if she will give me a loan after all the tooth fairy visits?

As I awaited the tooth fairy visit that night, I peeked in on her many times. She was so anxious for the visit she had a hard time sleeping. I would creep in to check on her and she would wiggle. I would creep back out and wait. During those in and outs, I had much time to gaze at her and reflect on the passing of time. I mean wasn't it just yesterday we were awaiting the cutting of the first tooth? How is it that we have already lost one? And even worse, my older ones have all lost thier last baby tooth. The end of an era for them. Time... it is passing and more and more I become engulfed in the precious awareness of its passing.

Funny thing, I think many people never really see the importance of losing teeth. The kids do. They await it and it is always great victory to have another one come out. And I believe most good parents get excited about it because of the kids joy. But many miss the story that is entwined in the first all the way to the last tooth coming out. The story of the passing of time.

Daily life gets in the way. We are rushed... work, school, sports, dance, church, friends, family, dinners, projects, cleaning, tv shows, bible studies, excerise, shopping, and on and on and on.... business all around, every day, and sometimes we forget to savor those moments that mean so much. We celebrate them, but the savoring can slip away as quick as the disappearance of the tooth by the tooth fairy. But I was reminded as I awaited the tooth fairy visit, to savor this moment because it is a gift and it is evidence of the ever precious passing of time.

It is easy to want to slow things down when we think of how quickly it is passing, but I am learning through experience, to instead of desiring the slow down, to instead just savor the moments and let them linger in my heart because I know all too well, the pain of when those moments never arrive. I would have given anything to experience the tooth fairy with Eathan. I is a passing of time that will never be for me and him. So as time moves faster and faster in our lives as my kids grow, I am truly, humbly grateful for the precious passing of time. My nugget this day is that simple.... I truly am filled with a heart of gratitude for this lost tooth experience and for the awareness I have been given through my gains and my losses in life of the precious passing of time!

Be blessed this day! Robin