Lately Audrey asks me once or twice a day, "Daddy, when I'm 14 (sometimes it's 6, sometimes it's 18) do I lose my teeth?"
"No," I reply, "By the time you're 14 you'll have all your big teeth. Why, are you concerned about losing your teeth?"
She usually nods. "I just want to leave money for the tooth fairy, okay?"
"Well, the way it's supposed to work is that you leave a tooth under your pillow and the tooth fairy leaves money for you. Doesn't that sound even better?" I ask.
She thinks on it a moment with an uncertain look. "No, I don't want the tooth fairy to come in my room... Is she nice?"
"Yes, she's very nice," I tell her, "and she loves little girls like you."
That's the way it's gone for awhile with Audrey. She's very concerned about strange creatures sneaking around our house at night and the tooth fairy is no exception.
This past weekend a similar concern existed about the Easter bunny. Audrey was laser focused on how he would enter our house and what he would do.
"Daddy, how does the Easter bunny get into here?" she asked with a sense of urgency. (She had already discussed this at length with her grammy and her aunt.)
I thought for a moment. "He has a magical key. And he uses that key whenever he visits little children like you so that he can leave special treats and hide Easter eggs."
"He does? I thought he had magic dust and that's how he got inside? How come he has a magic key?"
I looked at the others watching the conversation. Apparently they had informed her of the Easter bunny's secrets already. "Well, yes, he does have magic dust but he uses it along with his magic key. And he loves to use either one of them to come inside. But he's very quiet and he'll leave you lots of goodies. Okay?"
"Does he come in my room?" she wanted to know.
"No, he won't," I assured her.
"He doesn't? Because I don't want him to come in my room, or play with my toys."
"Do you want me to write a note that asks the Easter bunny to leave your treats on the front porch and hide the eggs outside?" (Brilliant.)
Her face lightened. "Yes, please do."
And that was the end of that. Here are the contents of the letter:
Dear Easter Bunny,
Thank you for stopping by our home! Audrey has kindly requested that you hide the eggs outside this year so as not to disturb her sleeping or her toys. We are excited, as well, to discover all the treats you have brought with you which you may leave by the front door. Thanks for your understanding and we look forward to tomorrow!
Did the Easter bunny abide by her wishes? Of course! Here was his reply:
Dear Audrey and Grace,
Happy Easter!! I got your note and wanted to respect your wishes (of course!). But, if I had left all the eggs outside, the deer and the squirrels would have eaten them! Same for your treats! So (and I hope it's okay!), I asked Baby bunny (my daughter who always travels with me) to use my magic key to hide eggs and leave treats for you inside! Have a great Easter!
When we read these letters to Audrey on Sunday morning she was all smiles. She hunted for her Easter eggs with as much excitement as I can remember. And she hasn't mentioned the Easter bunny since. If only she'd lose a tooth, maybe baby tooth fairy could write her a letter as well. But I think she's got a few more years on that one.
