Family Traditions

2004--Megan had definitely had
visits from the Tooth Fairy!

I was invited to go with my sister Grace to her ladies' Bible study group's end of the season luncheon. It was a very nice event; the hostess and her daughter had gone to a lot of work to provide a special and beautiful lunch. Before the lunch we had a devotional and then visited for a time. In the conversation, the topic of the Tooth Fairy came up with one of the young mothers. This reminded me of a tradition that developed in our family when our daughter and son were losing teeth.

Every family has traditions. Some are part of traditions passed down in the parents' families. Some are new that grow in the new family and then become traditions that move on to the next generation. In our case, we started a new Tooth Fairy tradition.

When our daughter, Anne Marie, lost her first tooth, her Daddy not only slipped a coin under her pillow, but he left a note from the Tooth Fairy. He wrote the note in backwards writing, so that it had to be held up to a mirror to read. Of course, the Tooth Fairy wouldn't just write an ordinary note! As the years went by and the teeth came out, the mirror-writing notes from the Tooth Fairy were looked forward to by our kids as much as the little bit of money they found under their pillows.

When our granddaughter, Megan, began losing teeth, Anne Marie took on the job of Tooth Fairy, leaving mirror-writing notes for her daughter. Megan, in turn, wrote back to the Tooth Fairy, and would include tiny presents (fairy-sized) such as a bit of gum or candy. These kinds of traditions are a lot of fun, and are important in building special family bonds.

I was amused when I sat down at my computer this morning to find another family tradition mentioned in my grandniece Maria's blog (http://www.maria-rose.blogspot.com/).  "Drive safe and sanitary" has been in the family for many years, and has even spread to friends and acquaintances!