“Give it back now! I want my TOOTH!”

As children grow they are quick to disgard items, toys, favorite books, clothing and eventually *sigh* baby teeth.
Lincoln, being my oldest Son, is my first little guy to “outgrow” his cute little choppers.

For a few months now I have been waiting for his little shiny diamond teeth to come loose, but since A GREAT BIG CHICLET of a tooth grew in behind his little fellas that turned him into a shark (giving him two funny looking rows of teeth on the bottom jaw) I have known that very soon my little boy would take another step closer to being a big kid.

As we walked into the local Walmart on sunny Saturday morning my little dude stated non-chalontly “My tooth is loose”
“So pull it out” I respond.
PLUNK – *gush gush*
“Oh my” I murmur as I watch the blood start pooling in the hole where his tooth just was. A scarlett trickle hits his shirt.
Looking around desperately for a napkin, towel, kleenex I say a silent thank-you to gluttony for placing a McDonalds in every Walmart. We are about 3 ft from the condiment counter and I reach wildly for the napkin dispenser as LIncoln clues in that he now has a mouthful of blood. The kiddies eating thier happy meals ain’t so happy at the sight of us. Mothers, lock up your children, the toothless wonder is coming!

I stop the bleeding but the damage is done.

“I want my TOOTH!” LIncoln wails. “I am hideous! people, don’t look at me! HELP! I need my tooth! Ohhh, ohhh, this is terrible!”
“I’ll buy you a toy” I bribe. “PLease, this is a good thing, please stop covering your mouth, you look great. Trust me.”
“I mmmmurrmmm mmeeeyy tooof”
“wha?”
“tooof, eeem meee my tooof”
“Uncover you face, you look ridiculous”
“Ohhh, this is terrible! it was a good tooth, I really miss my tooth!”
“Lincoln, kids grow new teeth, you already HAVE a new tooth and everything, now the tooth fairy will come…”
“She can’t take my tooth IT”S MINE!”

For once, I am being stared at more then the rednecks that frequent the store. The ones that wear tube tops and short shorts when they shouldn’t, with ft high bangs and “I’m with stupid” t-shirts.
“Look, it is gone, can’t put it back now, enjoy the rewards and move on” I say matter of fact. You know, cause kids with autism love straight forward answers, thoughts and things.

“No. I WANT MY TOOTH!”

People are really starting to look. I feel like a thief caught red handed. “he he” I nervously giggle. You’d think I was a denture burglar or something the way these shoppers were watching me. “the kid lost his first tooth, at Walmart!”

Now, I have never had a child lose a tooth.

I can’t say whether the reaction was just or common, but I do feel that Lincoln might have just processed the situation different then people normally do. Is that an autistic trait?
Well, yeah, I think so.
To Lincoln, it made no logical sense to him why he would require a “new tooth” We took him to the dentist last summer and he got a “metal tooth” metal is indestrucable, thus, no need for a new one.
The silly “tooth fairy” story did nothing for him.
So what, you give me money. So what, I get a toy, I am losing part of me!
do you get a blender when you break a nail or a door prize when you go bald?

Eventually we settled on a $25 Thomas the tank engine.

He did end the night with a kiss for his tooth that was going in the tooth jar to be retrieved by the ol’ fairy, and a soft “it was the best tooth I EVER had” sob sob.

The next morning, just as one would expect, he climbed out of bed, wonder-filled and peeked on his dresser to check the tooth jar to see what was left.

“Mom! THe tooth fairy came!!”

I smiled to myself, eyes still closed.

“WOW! that is great LInc! Whaddid she bring you?” I mumbled sleepily.

And even though it was not his answer, I knew the answer. The sweet innocence of childhood. Autism includes it. Remember that.

The little things count for so much.