Star Child

Caedance is my "firstborn". She enjoyed 6 minutes of being an "Only Child" before her twin was delivered. And in some ways I think those 6 precious minutes count for more than the 360 seconds they represent.

She is my "Never Give Up" child who will throw a fit out of the sheer frustrations of her efforts sometimes. She sees her sister achieve by grace and with ease; nothing seems to come with difficulty for Ashlyn. For Caedance, there can be struggles. But it's a joy to watch her sort through whatever it is she's working towards. Until she gets it the way she wants to. Until there is success. Her success; on her terms. You can't "hand" anything to her. And oh the smile that fills her face when she's accomplished her goal. It's beyond joy. It's pure and utter illumination.

This week brought on a challenge for my "oldest". Ashlyn lost her first tooth back in November, and Caedance was content to lag behind. Until this week. Ashlyn was walking around the house when she declared that yet another tooth was loose and, well look at that!, she pulled it right out. Tooth number 2. I found Caedance in the bathroom, yanking diligently on the not-quite-loose-enough tooth that she had in her own mouth. Just tugging away with a sense of desperation that this time...this time...it could not just be Ashlyn. No way. Not this time.

I convinced her to wait on her tooth, letting it get a bit more loose before trying to get it out. She went to bed that night, watching her sister get the Tooth Pillow ready for the Tooth Fairy, listening to her excitement over having lost another tooth, and still finding the resolve to be patient. (Life cannot be easy when you come in groups of comparable twos).

She woke up the next day with a new sense of purpose about her not-so-wobbly-tooth, and that purpose seemed to be, "Get It Out". She spent the entire day patiently wiggling it with her tongue. It was slightly more loose in the morning. A little more so in the afternoon. By evening, it had gotten looser still. Working away at it, bit by bit. Wiggle. Wiggle. Push. Push. Push. Like chipping away at a barrier. Get It Out.

Then at dinner, the moment came. She stopped eating and worked in earnest on her tooth. Push. Push. Push. Until all at once, a smile spread over her face. She leaned over and spit out a tiny white gem. That precious first tooth. Out. Finally. Success.

I'm not quite sure who was happier about this event; her or me. We may have been tied. It brought so much joy to me to be able to slip that pillow under her head, seeing her smile with wonder at the coming of the Tooth Fairy. For her! Our star for the evening.

And there is something very precious about seeing our two little girls with gaps in their smiles. Together. Toothless.

(And armed with this success, she's already begun to wiggle and prod at the next not-so-wobbly-tooth. Slow and steady wins the race, after all).