The Monkey lost his first tooth.*sigh* It’s moments like these that make me remember how fortunate we are to be where we are today. That we even have a tooth to freak out about and a chance to experience the Tooth Fairy, at all.

When I got the phone call at work, I was thrilled. I’ve gotten used to being the working single Mama who misses milestones but am lucky that my Mom is there. She calls me. She takes pictures. She makes it easy to be away from these moments. This tooth means something to me that I can’t repeat enough, I am just fricking lucky to be alive.

Milestones like this often go without fanfare and excitement. But this one is one that made me remember the moments after the Monkey was born that are fuzzy at best, and that only I remember because only I was there. Hearing his cry. Seeing his face. And then waking up in recovery to my parents waiting there to see my face. Waking up to a new life.

This beautiful lost tooth is proof of life. A life that we could’ve missed out on. It’s a reminder that we will continue to fight every single day for this gorgeous chance to love as Mama and Monkey.

When he asked me about the Tooth Fairy, and how she does her magic, I couldn’t help but share with him every detail from my own childhood memory. And in the end he says, “So she’s like Tinkerbell but she likes teeth?”. So simple, yet so perfect. At 4am, the Monkey came to my bedroom and showed me his dollar bills and was so thrilled when he crawled back into bed for the rest of the morning with his loot. It’s these simple moments that make every we went through almost six years ago worth it…he’s almost six…Jeebus.

Life is good.