Child Loses Tooth in Guatemala, Tooth Fairy Comes to the Rescue

momfamily fun & traditions

We all have our talents. Eating cheese seems to be something I'm fabulous at! I also hear I'm semi OK at writing, playing the piano, and making salad. But when it comes to playing the Tooth Fairy, I'm downright horrible. And, I've just taken it up a notch—or down, depending on how you look at it.

We are on a family vacay in Guatemala and yesterday, we went to Escipulas to see a beautiful white cathedral with a black Jesus inside. It's pretty famous in these parts, so we drove well out of our way for the visit.

The town, cathedral, black Jesus, people, and ambiance was everything people had promised it would be, so we were on a high note as we headed toward the car. All of a sudden Connor, my 6YO,  screams in delight, "My tooth finally came out right here in Guatemala! Do you think the Tooth Fairy will come to Guatemala? This is the best day ever!"

How fabulous to visit Guatemala! How many 6YOs get that opportunity? But to lose your tooth during the visit? What a never-to-forget memory, wouldn't you say? One that makes the already fabulous trip fabulous-er! Nothing could ruin this moment, right? Wrong!

Let's go back to the beginning of this post and let me re-emphasize how horrible I am at being the Tooth Fairy—even with the best of intentions and all the way on foreign soil. Here's how the story continues after Connor lost his tooth...

My mom gave me some toilet paper. I wrapped the tooth in it and stuck it in my back pocket and we were off.

Somewhere between Escipulas and Guatemala City we stopped for gas and I used the restroom. I had put some neatly folded toilet paper in my back pocket early that morning in the event I should have to go to the restroom at one of these stops and was glad I had done so when I entered the bathroom and discovered the lack of toilet paper.

A little closer, but again somewhere between Escipulas and Guatemala City and to my complete and utter horror, I realized that the toilet paper I used was not the neatly folded variety I placed in my back pocket earlier in the day, but the one that held my son's tooth, which will forever remain in a Guatemalan sewer. Can I be blamed for toilet-paper less bathrooms? Really? Can I?

Well, apparently Guatemalan Tooth Fairies (called Ratoncito Perez BTW) have miraculous powers that make kids fall asleep before they ask their parents for the tooth to place under their pillow, allowing parents to redeem themselves as Tooth Fairies before the child ever has a chance to know they were a failure to begin with. Phew!

How do you fare as a Tooth Fairy? What traditions do you do in your family surrounding losing a tooth?

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An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.

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