Our first child was a headstrong child. I had to create games in order to get things done. One of our games was Dentist. This is how we brushed teeth each night. I would pretend to be the dentist and M. would walk into my office/bedroom for her evening appointment. We would shake hands and introduce ourselves, she’d get in the bed and I would examine her teeth and brush them.Our real dentist would talk about sugar bugs and how we had to scrub them off to protect our teeth. So this is what we would talk about. Sugar bugs.
Our second child was a quiet, watchful child. She didn’t need trickery in order to do things. she’d just do them, but she loved the games anyway so we continued to play them. At this time I kept a notebook so that I could write down the things that amused me.
M1 was always very confident in the game. Seven years old, she’d walk into the pretend dentist office, chin held high, one hand behind her back, the other thrust out to shake hands, a powerful grip. She would follow the script exactly, sometimes asking to start over if she messed up. Our second child, M2, only three years old then was often shy. She’d walk into the bedroom with a smile, her hands often covering her face, blushing, she’d mumble hello, timidly shake hands. Sometimes she’d just run into the room, jump on the bed, throw her head back on the pillow, open her mouth and close her eyes.
One night I had finished brushing M1’s teeth while their dad had begun to brush M2’s. I was at the sink rinsing M1’s toothbrush. I turned and M2’s head was back on the pillow, mouth open wide and her dad was brushing. M2 stopped him and asked him to tell her about the bugs.
He said, “Little bugs, sugar bugs, making holes in your teeth. They’re having a party. They are teeny teeny tiny.”
Mia asked, “Can they talk?”
“Sure. Why not? If they can party, they can talk.”