Tooth Fairy

Some friendships can be very unique and special. There are friends that you can go months without seeing, and then when you get together, it's as though you last saw them just yesterday. We have a couple whose friendship with us is like that. They have wonderful children and are just great people and parents. When we get together, we do it at their house because of their kids. It's just a lot more convenient because the kids can go to bed when it's time, and we adults can spend some more time having fun and catching up. I usually volunteer (or am asked) to cook on these occasions, which pleases me greatly. The first time I cooked dinner for their family, I was warned that their kids (two of them at the time, under six years of age) might be a bit picky. Yeah, right. I made a casserole, and these two children finished their servings and then helped themselves to seconds and then thirds! 

Since then, I have introduced the family to Hungarian food, and shown the dad, who says he doesn't really care for cookies, that I could bake cookies that even he could love. I have breezed into their kitchen and appointed the kids as my sous chefs. One of my favorite moments has to do with the kids helping me to make a dessert. Two of the three that were helping needed to use step-stools to reach the counter. They paid close attention to my instructions, and tried very hard to follow them to the letter. At one point I said, "Okay, now put in the chocolate chips like this...swoosh!" The kids grabbed handfuls of chips and sprinkled them in the pan with the same hand gestures I had used, all while saying, "Swoosh!" Talk about a Kodak moment! It is one my favorite memories regarding their children.

Another fun memory that happened at their home had to do with the Tooth Fairy. After the kids had gone to bed, the daddy told us about what had happened first thing that morning. They had been quite busy and forgot that their oldest child had lost a tooth. He woke up and looked excitedly for his money from the Tooth Fairy. And found his tooth. They tried hard not to laugh when they heard him say, "D--- it! The Tooth Fairy didn't leave me anything!" So dad asked us to remind him to make sure that the Tooth Fairy got the job done properly that night. Since I really love their kids, I asked for a piece of paper so that I could write a note on behalf of the Tooth Fairy. I explained, as the Tooth Fairy, that I had been really busy. It was baseball season, after all, and a lot of players had lost teeth during games lately. I sure was sorry to have missed him, but I finally made it to his house. I hope he enjoyed his personal note.

Some people might have thought that it was silly to even care about that situation, but I really do love this kid. When we first started to get to know their family, he looked at me during dinner and exclaimed, "Oh! I just figured out who you remind me of!" His dad was concerned and asked his son to whisper in his ear so that he could make sure it was someone okay. He told his son to go ahead and tell me. I was eager to find out. When his son asked me if I had seen Finding Nemo, I said yes, I loved that movie. "I hope you're going to say that I remind you of Dory! She's my favorite!" He had a huge smile on his face and told me that yes, I did remind him of Dory. That was one of the best compliments I have ever gotten from a kid. All in all, life is great if you can be both Dory and the Tooth Fairy!