Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Parent Of The Year, Part 4

I was at lunch the other day with someone I only see occasionally. He glanced up from his meal and smiled, "Do you still tell your kids that their arms are going to fall off?"

I get that kind of question a lot. A few years ago, when my youngest was four or so, I asked him what he wanted from the Limb Fairy.

"What's the Limb Fairy?"

"You know how your brothers got money from the Tooth Fairy?"

"Yes."

"Well," I said, "when you get older you lose your limbs just like you do your teeth."

He looked a little nervous but asked, "What's a limb?"

"Those are your arms and legs. As you get bigger, your baby limbs fall off and your big boy limbs grow out instead."

"They do not," he said, with a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

"Sure they do," I replied. "Look at your arms. How could those ever get big enough on their own?"

"You're lying."

"I wouldn't lie to you sweetheart. It's a special time. It's when the Limb Fairy comes. If you put your baby arm under the pillow, the Limb Fairy will take it and leave you a present."

"Mom!" he shrieked, in more than a little panic. "Is there a Limb Fairy?"

My wife glared at me. "What have I told you about your father?"

"Ignore him?"

"That's right. Just ignore him."

It was fun while it lasted.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Niiiiice. This is reminding me of being 3 and the family friend who told me that if I continued to suck my thumb, it would fall off... it was already perilously loose unlike his, which was virtually immovable. He never mentioned a thumb fairy so I guess once mine fell off, they were gone for good.

I've still got them, but they are still dangerously loose even though I haven't misused them in decades.

Snag said...

None of mine were ever thumbsuckers. The oldest because he's wound too tight, the two younger ones because it would have been seen as a sign of weakness.