Daddy The Basketball Star?

This past week, my daughters watched me play in my rec basketball league championship.  It was the first time they'd come to one of my games.  Unfortunately, we lost a close one 62-58.  But to add insult to injury, despite the fact that I actually played a pretty decent game (about 15 points, 4 or 5 steals, half a dozen blocks), all the girls could talk about after the game was how much better the other team's "really good guy" was than daddy.

"Daddy, did your team win?" 

"No.  It was a really close game, but we lost by just a little bit."

"Oh.  That's ok.  Did the other team have the Really Good Guy?"

"The Really Good Guy?"

"Yeah.  The guy who made a lot of shoots."  [He did have at least half their points.]

"Yep.  The other team had the Really Good Guy."

"I bet that's why they won.  Because they had the Really Good Guy.  I bet he practices every day, that's why he's so good.  You don't practice every day daddy."

"No.  No, I don't."

"Maybe if you practiced every day, you could be good like the Really Good Guy." 

"Maybe."

"Can we practice basketball when we get home so you can get really good too?"

"If you insist." 

"Ok daddy.  You need to practice every day, ok?"

"Ok."

Kids can be pretty humbling sometimes.  But at least all our lecturing about the importance of practicing to get really good at something seems to be making an impact.

Sadie Lost Her First Tooth - Literally

Sadie has a lot of friends and classmates who have lost their first tooth this year.  She has been very anxious to join the Lost Tooth Club.  Numerous times over the past few months, she has come to Jill or me, claimed to have a loose tooth and asked us to verify that it was loose.  We usually would say that it was loose, even though it never was.  (Yes, we lie to our children.  Frequently, actually.)

Well this morning, Sadie did it again.  "Daddy, I think I have a loose tooth!  Is it?"  So I dutifully reached into her mouth, pressed on her tooth, and gave it a gentle wiggle.  And you know what, it actually felt a little loose to me.  So I told her, truthfully for once, that it seemed a little loose.  But it definitely was not very loose, so I didn't think it would come out today. 

Well, I was wrong.  Sadie came up to me about an hour later and asked if her mouth was bleeding.  I glanced over.  Her mouth was bleeding, and her tooth was missing.  I told Sadie that she'd lost a tooth.  She was so excited.  She was beaming, radiating excitement.  She'd been waiting so long for this moment, and it was finally here. 

I asked where her tooth was, but she didn't know.  She was playing in the front yard, so we started looking around.  It became obvious pretty quickly, however, that we weren't going to find that little tooth.  Sadie wasn't phased, however.  She said she'd just leave a note for the Tooth Fairy. 

So that's what she did.  I have to say, it's a pretty darned good note.

Lots of nice details here.  The Tooth Fairy, Sadie's tooth in the grass, the blood on her mouth.  It's sad, but Sadie's already a better artist than I ever was.  And in case you can't read that last line, it says, "and plaes give me money."