Tooth fairy is coming tonight

Zak's lower front tooth (central incisor) fell off today. Oh, how he screamed like a girl. I didn't expect that there would be blood coming out. It was a long time ago since my baby teeth fell off so I was a bit caught off-guard. I thought I was prepared. I thought I knew what to do at the very instant it happened.

Karl didn't know what to do either. So I cupped Zak's chin while the tooth hang precariously in his extended lower lip, with all the blood and saliva. I dragged him to the kitchen while Karl followed, albeit unhelpfully. 'What are you doing?' he asked. I started laughing, excited that the wobbly tooth has finally fallen off. Zak was looking at me like I was mad. How could his mother laugh when there was blood in his mouth? Anyway, instinct instantly kicked in. I remember how my grans managed my bleeding gum when I was little. So I let Zak rinse his mouth with a cup of vinegar and a bit of salt mixed in. Karl asked again, 'Why vinegar?' Well, soy sauce won't be much help, would it?


I felt helpless so I started shouting, where's the camera? where's the camera? Zak got the phone. Karl picked up a plastic bag. I picked up a cotton ball. Ok, let's check the tooth. Is it complete? Is it whole? Karl said, 'there's still a bit of tooth left in his gum'. I checked. No, it's fine. That's how the tooth looks like.

I finally got hold of the camera. OK, Zak, look at me. Smile!