Parable of the Lost Tooth, Part 2

Continued from Part 1 where I explained how Leif had his tooth extracted and swallowed his tooth, and was extremely distressed until I told him we could search through poop for it.  

At 4:38am our bedroom door flies open. "Mommy, I have to poop!" It was Leif, who NEVER gets up to use the bathroom during the night. "Leif, just go on the potty, there's very little chance your tooth is going to be in this one." But he refused. Charles had the idea that Leif could poop into the old toddler potty, that I never let my kids use because of the gross factor. So, I stumbled downstairs and into the garage trying to find all of the pieces to the potty. The bottom, which also becomes a step stool was out on our back deck. So, in a t-shirt, underwear and socks, I go out INTO THE RAIN to retrieve this final part. The deed was done, covered & stored in our garage for examination in the morning. It was then well after 5am, and our noise woke up Owen, and thus began our day.

"So, did the Tooth Fairy come last night?" I asked Leif when I was awake enough to think. He ran upstairs and comes back beaming with the Sacagawea Dollar I had put under his pillow. "How did you get it under my pillow without me knowing?" He asks. (I've already told him the history of the tooth fairy, including the fact that the parents are actually the fairies.) "Well, I was the Tooth Fairy, so I was super quiet."

Geared up for the search!

We geared up in masks and gloves. We got out newspaper, plastic knives and plastic bags. We spent several days carefully and painfully searching through number twos. Leif vowed never to poop at school again until we found the tooth. But by the end of the week, Leif said he was ready to quit. I told him we could put his Sacagawea Dollar into a tooth treasure chest, and keep it in memory of his lost-lost tooth. He didn't even cry at this suggestion. I thought he was done searching through poop, although he had mentioned several times that he would never give up on the "tooth quest". Apparently that was his name for what we were doing.

I wrote a blog post and I called it "The Lost-Lost Tooth", but I didn't publish it. I was suspicious that Leif was going to have us try again, and I was right. Saturday morning Leif informed me that "the Tooth Quest was not over." So, I warned him that after this, we were not going to look any more, but we could try this one last time. We got geared up and Leif said, "I don't want to do this, but I'm going to." And I said, "me too, let's do this." So we search, and we search, and I really thought we were done when my plastic knife clinked into something. THE TOOTH! Leif exclaims, "Thanks Mommy! Can I go play now?" We laughed and did some high-fives and a happy dance. Leif ran to tell Charles and I ran to find some bleach.

Finally reunited. (post bleaching)

Saturday night we read the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the prodigal son, and talked about how God would not only search to find us, but he sent Jesus to die for us so that we would never have to be apart again. And He celebrates us, just like we laughed and celebrated the lost tooth that was found.

Lessons you can learn from me:
1. Sometimes being co-dependent can land you elbow deep in poo for days on end, so mourn losses with your kids and move on!
2. If your child swallows anything of value, do NOT feed them peanuts until your search is over. 

Lessons you can learn from Leif:
1. When getting your tooth pulled, sit PERFECTLY still, and maybe your dentist won't drop your tooth down your throat. 
2. Poop stinks. 
3. My mom rocks.

Lessons we should have learned from Charles:
1. It's okay to be sad and say goodbye to things.
2. It's okay for our children to be sad and say goodbye to things.
3. My wife is crazy.

The tooth!

4. Feeling like a lost tooth stuck in poop? Don't worry, Jesus is looking for you and won't stop until the plastic knife clinks against your teeth, or some other part of you that might clink.

The End.