{"id":18297,"date":"2020-09-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasee.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=essay&p=18297"},"modified":"2024-03-26T15:08:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T19:08:39","slug":"the-loose-tooth-lesson","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/the-loose-tooth-lesson\/","title":{"rendered":"The Loose Tooth Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day was just beginning, and I already felt defeated.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was overwhelmed as I looked at my To Do List for that day. So many things needed to be done that I knew I\u2019d be up all night to get half of them done. The day was just beginning, and I already felt defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I was making coffee, my 11-year-old son, Nathan, came into the kitchen. \u201cMom, there\u2019s a book I want on Amazon,\u201d he said. \u201cCan I spend my allowance to buy it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat down at the computer to look at the item he wanted. It was Star Wars, as everything was in his life these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I looked at the price of the book, I realized it was two dollars more than his allowance. \u201cDo you have any money left from last week? Because this book is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I could finish, Nathan held up his hands to stop me. \u201cMom, I already know what you\u2019re going to say. I\u2019m two dollars short. But I\u2019m planning to lose a tooth today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I burst out laughing. He had me and he knew it. The tooth fairy at our house always paid exactly two dollars for teeth. Plus, the orthodontist had just told us that Nathan had just a few more teeth to lose before he could get his braces, so I\u2019d been encouraging him to get them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you even have any that are loose?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He nodded and showed me. \u201cI\u2019ll wiggle it all day,\u201d he promised. So I ordered the book he wanted. Then I started working on my To Do List. As I expected, I worked all day and barely got through half of the tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At bedtime, Nathan\u2019s tooth was not under his pillow. It was still in his mouth. When I asked him about it, he said, \u201cI got busy playing with the dogs and I forgot to wiggle it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smiled. \u201cThat\u2019s okay. I got busy too. Only half of my To Do List is done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you still need to do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I listed some of the tasks I hadn\u2019t gotten around to yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan frowned. \u201cDid you do anything fun today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought back and then shook my head. \u201cNo, there wasn\u2019t time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you only do the things on your list?\u201d
 
\u201cI try to do those things first, and then I can do something fun after the things on the list are done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom, how often do you actually finish your list?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a good question. The honest answer was never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan could read it on my face. \u201cI planned to lose my tooth today, but I didn\u2019t. And it\u2019s okay. If you don\u2019t finish your list, that will be okay too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hugged him and said, \u201cYou\u2019re such a smart kid. I\u2019d planned to work on my list some more after I tucked you in, but I\u2019m not going to. All of those tasks will still be there tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He smiled. \u201cWhat are you going to do instead? Something fun? You need to do something fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right. Something fun it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After I left Nathan\u2019s room, I remembered the load of laundry still in the dryer. I was tempted to get it out and fold it, but I\u2019d promised Nathan I\u2019d do something fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put on my pajamas and read a novel I\u2019d wanted to read for months. It felt wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, my husband, Eric, asked Nathan if his tooth had come out yet. Nathan shook his head. \u201cMom and I decided last night that sometimes plans change and that\u2019s okay,\u201d he said. \u201cI planned to lose my tooth yesterday, but I didn\u2019t. I taught Mom that she doesn\u2019t have to do everything she planned to do every day either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric smiled. \u201cThat\u2019s a lesson she needed to learn, Bud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I overheard their conversation and smiled. Eric was right. It was a lesson I needed to learn. My 11-year-old son felt he needed to give me permission to take some time off and have fun. What message was I sending him? I needed to make some changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days later, Nathan\u2019s book arrived from Amazon, but that tooth was still in his mouth. That\u2019s okay though. Because that load of laundry was still in the dryer, but I was halfway through my novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Nathan and I snuggled on the couch, reading together, he smiled. \u201cI\u2019m glad you decided to have fun, Mom. Even though all of the work isn\u2019t done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realized that all of the work will never be done. No matter how hard I tried, I\u2019d always have tasks on a To Do List. But now, thanks to a little boy with a loose tooth, having fun is one of those tasks.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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