Well, tomorrow is Friday… but Flashback Thursday did not sound as good as Flashback Friday. Anyway, our younger son who is the one sporting the orthodontic headgear has had the contraption on his face non-stop since he got it. I didn’t think he would be this diligent, especially after the first night when he said it made his entire top row of teeth hurt! Tonight I found out why he is wearing it every moment he can…. my husband calculated how much it will cost if he has to wear it for the full nine months…. and he told Keeve that he will PAY HIM if he gets it off early! Bribery is alive and well in my God-fearing home. And can I just add here that money talks in this house!
This reminded me of another bribe-gone-bad from a few years back. Both my boys were scheduled at the dentist on the same morning. The dentist looked at our older son’s teeth and announced that one tooth, which was already loose, needed to be pulled. He quoted me $60 to pull the loose tooth. I phoned my husband to give him the update and he asked to talk to our son. They talked. Then hung up. I asked what was going on! My money-saving husband told our son that he would pay him $30 to pull the tooth himself! A savings of $30! Of course, our son was all for the $30 tooth pulling plan and started pushing and prodding the loose tooth.
Back I went to the other son in the next room and sat with him during his cleaning. After a while, son#1 called out my name, “MOM!” I went in there to discover a bloody hand holding the prized $30 tooth. I was not surprised.
After cleaning #2 son’s teeth, the dentist reappeared in the room of son #1 who was still holding his freshly extracted canine. The dentist was a bit surprised (and probably sad at losing and easy $60) and had a peak in my boy’s mouth. His next comment made me laugh all the way home (just like the little wee-wee-wee piggy!) “Son, you pulled the wrong tooth.” It was all okay in the giant dental picture, as it was coming out soon and was loose as well.
So we arrived home with the $30 tooth still in his head and a free tooth in his hand. My husband gave him two days to pull the other one, or the $30 deal was off. At the end of day two the money exchanged hands and the Big Indian Tooth Fairy (my husband) was busy twice in one week!
Oh, the joys of parenting with purpose!
My Sister's Jar 