The tale of a tooth..

Little Lynnie-lou-hoo has a few loose teeth.  They are not terribly wobbly yet, but are slightly wiggly right now.  They have been that way for a while.
New year's day, amid your sleepy fog, the little girl informed me that her other bottom tooth had suddenly become more wiggly.
I really shouldn't say suddenly..  she was sneaking and snacking on some tortilla chips.  Those babies always help with the loosening process.
I am the parent who enjoys this stuff.  I could sit and wiggle and tug at a tooth all day.
I loved losing teeth.
So needless to say, I would beg and bribe her to let me pull at it and wiggle it for the rest of the day.  It would usually end with her squealing (Merrill says it was more screaming than squealing..) and then Merrill would tell me to leave it, and her alone.
During one of our wiggle moments, it was made even more loose.
It was quite exciting.
She was pretty determined to get that out before bedtime, but she was too nervous.  It was set to finish the next day.
We said family prayers, tucked the girls in, and went about our getting ready for bed, when I heard quiet sobbing coming from the girls' room.
It was Lynn.
She was afraid that her tooth was going to fall out while she was asleep, travel down her throat, and either she would choke on it, or would have to keep an eye out for it for the next couple of days..  if you know what I mean.
After asking her what she would rather do, it was eventually decided that we would pull it out right then.
After more wiggling and tugging in the bathroom, Lynn decided that she wanted to be the one to extract it.
Then the tears began.
She was so scared!
I tried to reassure her, to no avail.  I asked her again, what she wanted to do about it.  Her answer, "Say a prayer."
I had a proud mom moment in that second..  the kind of moment where your heart jumps up in your chest a bit, you feel choked up, tears brim at your eyes, and your whole body feels warm and fuzzy..  you know that moment?
Oh, my girl...
I got over myself, and said, "Okay..  let's do it."
We folded our arms, and I waited..  and waited.
I opened one eye only to find her tear-filled eyes looking back at me.  Her lip began to quiver and she said, "I want you to say it..  I don't know what to say."
Then came the teaching moment, which was a teaching moment more for me, than it was for her.
"Honey, you say whatever you are feeling.  He understands.  There is no certain way to say it, there is no wrong way to say a prayer..  you just talk, tell Him how you feel.  Sometimes you don't even need to talk.  Sometimes we cry and He knows exactly what we are feeling."
"How does He know?"
"Heavenly Father has known you longer than even I have known you.  He has known you so long, He knows you so well, that He knows what you will choose to wear tomorrow.  He loves you and He wants you to tell Him how you feel.  Talk to Him like you talk to me..  tell me, how do you feel?"
"I am scared.  I am scared that it will hurt and I don't want it to hurt.  I want it out so I can go to sleep and not worry that I will swallow it."
"Then that is what you tell Him."
After that, there was the sweetest prayer said on the floor or our rubber ducky bathroom.  The two of us kneeling together, and my little girl saying a very sincere prayer to her loving Heavenly Father.  She told Him just how she felt and ended with a tearful "Amen".  Then she set to getting that tooth out.
We got it out, and she tells me it only hurt "a little bit".
Now I have to record and remember this, not only for her, but for myself.  There are so many times that life can seem so overwhelming to me.  Putting it into perspective, I think that there are others out there with so many bigger worries or problems than my own..  but they are my own.  I have to remember that He cares.  It is ME and He cares.  He wants to know how I am feeling.  He wants me to ask for His help.  He is waiting to help me and bless me.  I just have to come to Him.  Sometimes all I want to do is cry, and I need to remember that He understands that too.
I love my girls.
I know that He loves them too..  and He loves me that very same way.