When I was a kid and had a loose tooth, I was excited. I would wiggle the tooth every day and when it felt like it was ready, you know barely hanging on, I tied a piece of string on it and pulled. There was always a rush of adrenaline and a bit of anxiousness but the thrill and the hope of a quarter under my pillow motivated me to get it out quick.
Losing teeth for Lia has been like a horrible trauma. Each one. The first loose tooth appeared and she was upset for days. She said things like, "It's my favorite tooth, I don't want to lose it." So we found a book about the tooth fairy and a chart to track when she lost each tooth. We were hoping this would ease the pain and get her excited about this passage of life. It didn't.
In Korea Lia lost a tooth on a very crowded bus ride home. While smashed body to body on the 810, Zach bumped Lia's mouth, the tooth came out and the screams began. Thankfully, it was time to get off the bus so Todd only had to endure that madness for a couple of minutes. We lived about 3-4 blocks from the bus stop so Todd carried Lia all the way home as she sobbed, wailed and mourned the loss of her tooth. She was also angry at Zach for bumping her. Honestly, I thought it was awesome! What a great story to tell when she was older--or for me to blog. :-)
Last week Lia lost a tooth. I'm not sure how many she's lost to this point but again she had a look of shock and horror when she carried it to me. I was glad it had finally come out. We had been talking about this loose tooth for weeks. Weeks. And weeks. She wouldn't wiggle it. She wouldn't let me touch it. She just talked about her loose tooth for weeks.
The tooth fairy was a little slow in his/her job and hadn't made it to our house yet. As Todd was putting Lia to bed she reminded him that the tooth fairy had not come and that she was hoping that he/she would finally remember to show up. Now the tooth fairy always brings a dollar. That is more generous than the quarter I use to receive under my pillow. On this night though, Lia wanted something different, something rare and priceless.
She said, "Dad, I don't want the tooth fairy to bring me a dollar. That's boring. I want her to bring me something rare. Priceless. Like a crystal from the Tryastic (not sure if that's how you spell it) Era."
Todd of course said it might be difficult for the tooth fairy to produce a rare crystal on such short notice.
Lia woke up the next day disappointed to find a simple and not rare dollar bill under her pillow.
Why do I share all of this? Lia dreams. She has imagination and wonder. I love these things about her. I am grateful that though she is growing up, she still dreams and thinks that perhaps it's possible that the tooth fairy could bring her a rare and priceless crystal from some dinosaur era. She also knows that Mom and Dad are the tooth fairy. And yet she still dreams.
I'm sometimes scared to dream. I'm scared of failure. I'm scared of being unrealistic or disappointed. Of course, I'm not talking about tooth fairies but about the beautiful and messy world we live in and this one life I've been give to live.
I dream of wrong things made right, for hope and healing for the broken, for marriages to be restored. I dream of hiking down the Grand Canyon, of running another marathon, traveling to far-away lands. I dream of growing old with my Darlin and seeing my kids grow and live out their dreams. I dream of seeing captives set free and joy being restored to the downcast. I dream of making a difference in other peoples lives. My list goes on and on.
I'm grateful for Hope. Hope in a Savior that has died and risen. Hope that He will come again. Hope that He is everything. My everything. Hope that He is and will make all things new. He wants me to dream. He wants me to take risk. He wants me to believe that in Him all things are possible and that He has and will do more than I could possibly think or imagine. He wants me to trust Him in my failures and continue moving forward in His grace.
He is awakening my heart. I'm starting to dream again.
Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away . . . the time of singing . . . of dreaming has come.
Losing teeth for Lia has been like a horrible trauma. Each one. The first loose tooth appeared and she was upset for days. She said things like, "It's my favorite tooth, I don't want to lose it." So we found a book about the tooth fairy and a chart to track when she lost each tooth. We were hoping this would ease the pain and get her excited about this passage of life. It didn't.
In Korea Lia lost a tooth on a very crowded bus ride home. While smashed body to body on the 810, Zach bumped Lia's mouth, the tooth came out and the screams began. Thankfully, it was time to get off the bus so Todd only had to endure that madness for a couple of minutes. We lived about 3-4 blocks from the bus stop so Todd carried Lia all the way home as she sobbed, wailed and mourned the loss of her tooth. She was also angry at Zach for bumping her. Honestly, I thought it was awesome! What a great story to tell when she was older--or for me to blog. :-)
Last week Lia lost a tooth. I'm not sure how many she's lost to this point but again she had a look of shock and horror when she carried it to me. I was glad it had finally come out. We had been talking about this loose tooth for weeks. Weeks. And weeks. She wouldn't wiggle it. She wouldn't let me touch it. She just talked about her loose tooth for weeks.
The tooth fairy was a little slow in his/her job and hadn't made it to our house yet. As Todd was putting Lia to bed she reminded him that the tooth fairy had not come and that she was hoping that he/she would finally remember to show up. Now the tooth fairy always brings a dollar. That is more generous than the quarter I use to receive under my pillow. On this night though, Lia wanted something different, something rare and priceless.
She said, "Dad, I don't want the tooth fairy to bring me a dollar. That's boring. I want her to bring me something rare. Priceless. Like a crystal from the Tryastic (not sure if that's how you spell it) Era."
Todd of course said it might be difficult for the tooth fairy to produce a rare crystal on such short notice.
Lia woke up the next day disappointed to find a simple and not rare dollar bill under her pillow.
Why do I share all of this? Lia dreams. She has imagination and wonder. I love these things about her. I am grateful that though she is growing up, she still dreams and thinks that perhaps it's possible that the tooth fairy could bring her a rare and priceless crystal from some dinosaur era. She also knows that Mom and Dad are the tooth fairy. And yet she still dreams.
I'm sometimes scared to dream. I'm scared of failure. I'm scared of being unrealistic or disappointed. Of course, I'm not talking about tooth fairies but about the beautiful and messy world we live in and this one life I've been give to live.
I dream of wrong things made right, for hope and healing for the broken, for marriages to be restored. I dream of hiking down the Grand Canyon, of running another marathon, traveling to far-away lands. I dream of growing old with my Darlin and seeing my kids grow and live out their dreams. I dream of seeing captives set free and joy being restored to the downcast. I dream of making a difference in other peoples lives. My list goes on and on.
I'm grateful for Hope. Hope in a Savior that has died and risen. Hope that He will come again. Hope that He is everything. My everything. Hope that He is and will make all things new. He wants me to dream. He wants me to take risk. He wants me to believe that in Him all things are possible and that He has and will do more than I could possibly think or imagine. He wants me to trust Him in my failures and continue moving forward in His grace.
He is awakening my heart. I'm starting to dream again.
Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away . . . the time of singing . . . of dreaming has come.
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