Pull out the ol' chequebook

My kids still believe in the tooth fairy and lately, it seems to me that she's demanding more than her fair share of teeth. I don't know if they're just eating too many sweets, or if they sit there at night and work on wrenching out their own teeth because they're broke, but for the past year, one or the other of my two daughters have been losing a tooth every couple of weeks. I'm surprised that they have any left to lose.

Anyway, the tooth fairy used to be quite chintzy and leave a loonie, maybe two. She used to scatter glitter all over the bedroom of the recipient (for effect) and one of my daughters was always very excited at the amazing occurence in the middle of the night. In the morning we would discuss exactly how it she'd get in the house. Did she walk through the front door and up the stairs, they'd wonder. No, I'd say, she flies through the window. So then the kids would say, but window's closed, and I'd say she was magic, and so on and so on.

Late one night, I wandered downstairs at 2:00 am because I'd just remembered the damn tooth fairy was supposed to show up that night, when I realized that I didn't have any change in my purse. Nada. Just bills, and the tooth fairy wasn't feeling that generous. I had an idea. I'll leave a cheque! I'll just write out a cheque, black out my name, and pretend the fairy had written it! So I wrote out a cheque, and I made it out for five dollars, because just giving two bucks in a cheque seemed cheesy at the time.

The next morning, I was greeted with gasps of awe. "The tooth fairy left a CHEQUE!!" and "I got FIVE dollars!" There was no wondering how she managed to break into the house, the tooth fairy was a hero. But then, "If she gave me a cheque, how'm I supposed to get the money?" So I said I would take the cheque to the bank for them, and endorse it for her. Great. I 'cashed' the cheque and gave her the cash the next day, and she couldn't be more thrilled, or more impatient to spend it.

Unfortunately, I set a precedent. The next time one of the kids lost a tooth, they wondered aloud, "I wonder if she'll leave a cheque this time? Or will she borrow one of Mommy's again?" I thought I was busted but then I explained that the tooth fairy was out of cheques, and she did indeed borrow one of mine. The kids seemed satisfied with that and said, "I hope she leaves a cheque every time! It's better than when she leaves a loonie!"

So now, I have to leave a cheque every time or there better be a good reason why not, and the kids are making me broke again, this time with their baby teeth.