Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Recession: Nobody is safe.

I think the effects of the economy are being felt by pretty much everyone these days. We all know someone who has lost his or her job, lost money in the stock market, can't find a job, or at least paid too much for gas. But these things are to be expected during times such as these. However, there are some people who should not be affected by the ups and downs of the market - people who Americans need to know are immune from such things.

Recently, my niece Avery went to her first dentist appointment. Avery has been sucking her thumb since she was a baby so the dentist wanted to talk to her about the importance of stopping that habit. She talked to my sister Erin about it but Erin wanted the dentist to handle it so that she didn't have to be the bad guy. The dentist told Avery that she had a beautiful smile and Avery was glowing. Then she started to explain how Avery needed to stop sucking her thumb because it was making her teeth crooked. It was the one-two punch and poor little Avery's smile started to fade . . .

The dentist quickly saved the moment by offering a great idea. She told Avery that if she did a good job of stopping the thumb-sucking, that Erin would let the tooth fairy know and that the tooth fairy would bring her something special. This made Avery's smile return. The dentist, unable to stand the sight of a child smiling, apparently, then turned to Erin and said "Or you can tell her that she can continue to suck her thumb but that, if she does so, she must do so in her room because you and the rest of the family do not support that decision." What the . . .? Avery's smile? Gone. The dang one-two punch again . . . we should have seen it coming.

Avery began making the effort to stop the nasty habit. She would start to put it in her mouth and then would realize what she was doing so she'd stop and look longingly at her thumb before putting her hand back down by her side. She was such a big girl about it.

The next night, she and her sister Savannah had a slumber party at my sister Tammy's house with Tammy's kids, Emma and Ben. She did such a good job of not sucking her thumb and was excited that the tooth fairy would be coming soon if she kept up the good work. They went to bed that night and, when they woke up, Avery was ecstatic to see that the tooth fairy had visited! And had left her a note and some HEB Buddy Bucks . . .

That's right, I said HEB Buddy Bucks . . . as in the grocery store HEB.

Turns out my eight-year-old niece Emma wanted to play tooth fairy so she waited until the rest of the kids were asleep and slipped a note under Avery's pillow, along with some HEB Buddy Bucks. Wasn't that sweet? All of the kids joined Avery in her excitement. Except Ben. He was crying because the tooth fairy had taken his HEB Buddy Bucks and given them to Avery . . .

So it looks like the recession has hit the tooth fairy, too, and that she's been forced to get her Robin Hood on. And that's just wrong, people. If we can't expect the tooth fairy to remain solvent, what CAN we expect?? I've been optimistic about the economy but this shakes me to the core. What next??

I'll tell you right now, if Santa brings me HEB Buddy Bucks, I will NOT be pleased. And neither will Ben . . .

6 comments:

Alana said...

love it!!!

Unknown said...

It is 7:30 in the morning and I am laughing so hard!

Emma said...

Hysterical! I will NEVER forget that.....Ben's wail, the wail of a man wronged!! But,oh, wasn't my baby sweet to think of that for her little cousin?? I am absolutely cracking up thinking about it all again!

Unknown said...

Hilarious! I did not see at all where this story was going. Good plot twist!

Jo Ann said...

So you're saying the Tooth Fairy isn't real? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I love YOU!!! The story is GREAT!!! But the author is GREATER... :) How do you make such fun out of life everyday?