My 6-year-old niece just lost her first tooth last week and my mom decided to get her a diary as a gift "from the Tooth Fairy." The sales lady scrunched her face in disapproval of my mom's gift choice, risking losing a tooth or two herself. (My mom has got a mean right hook.) But what Ms. Snooty Saleswoman didn't know is that my niece has been diary obsessed since her friend gave her a used one from a garage sale recently. My mom simply thought that my niece should have her very own, and the loss of the tooth provided a convenient occassion.
Now, at barely 6, my niece can pretty much write her name and maybe one or two other small words. But she dictates to my sister-in-law, who dutifully takes down what cartoon she liked that day, what time she went to bed, how many times my nephew bothered her, what her favorite animal of the minute is, and other important life-changing events in my her ever so adorable 6-year-old life.
This weekend, I got to thinking about the diaries that I kept as a kid. Depending on how you look at it, I was either very, very smart (possibly) or totally over-the-top neurotic (yup, more likely) because I never EVER wrote any secrets or potentially embarrassing things in there. Totally defeating the purpose of HAVING a diary, I know, but my innermost thoughts never got past my internal standards and practices committee. Even though my diary had a lock on it, I just knew my brother would steal it and read about how I'd just choreographed a dance (complete with costume and lighting ideas) to Barry Manilow's "Daybreak" or something. Not that I ... uhm ... ever did that. Okay. So what if I did? Maybe I was a kiddie Fanilow. Well, laugh all you want, cause I was a smart Fanilow. Up until two minutes ago, at least, when I decided to go public and Manil-out myself.
So did anyone else ever self-edit their diary as a kid? If so, what would be one of the most embarrassing secrets you would've penned as a child ... but you didn't? And if you didn't self censor, did anyone write something sacred only to have it exposed to the whole world by a snooping sibling or parent? Now's the time to come clean, people. Don't you all dare hold back on me. We're Goody family, so there should be no secrets among us. Let's have 'em!
Not that there's anything wrong with the old money-under-the-pillow approach to leaving cash from the Tooth Fairy, but how adorable is this tooth pillow from Oeuf? I'm betting your child would love to find his quarter, dollar, or whatever the going rate for teeth is these days tucked away in this snuggly little molar. It could also cut back on the risk of waking her up while digging for lost pearly whites under the pillow, and can double as a fun plush toy.
