Holding onto childhood traditions #MondayMusings

Yesterday evening N came out of the washroom triumphantly holding up a tooth, a huge grin on her face. You might wonder at the grin considering this is hardly her first one to fall off. They’re well into their molars now.

Well, even though they have long since busted the tooth fairy myth, they continue to extort a princely sum of Rs 20 each time a tooth falls off. Since they are oddly reluctant to spend their pocket-money, which I started them off on recently, they look forward to this ‘windfall’.

I don’t really mind.

What I do mind is that N expects the entire tooth-fairy hoopla along with it.

“Don’t forget to leave the money under the pillow,” she reminded me. “Not like last time, okay? You forgot and when I looked and didn’t find any and was very sad you sneaked it in later and then came and asked me ‘Did you look really properly’ (*she mimics my grown up voice*). Of course I’d looked properly but then I had to look again and I knew you had put it in later but I had to pretend to be surprised. I saw you, okay! I saw you put in the money later,” she said.

Seriously? Is there anything she doesn’t know? And this makes the whole exercise even more pointless in my eyes. Why Oh why put my poor over-worked brain under so much stress when she knows everything?

I have no clue at all.

Yet, like a dutiful mom, I waited for her to fall asleep yesterday and (for once) remembered to go back to their room and put the money under her pillow.

As I watched her turn in her sleep and settle down again, I thought perhaps, like me, she was also reluctant to let go of these little bits of her childhood.

It’s rather strange that N should do this because she was the more independent one as a baby, wriggling out of our laps, longing to be set free while H was the clingy one craving physical contact. And now, as they grow, he’s the one clamouring for more freedom everyday while she holds on to her babyhood tenaciously.

Strange creatures, these kids.

Do you remember a childhood tradition that you still follow with your parents? Or do you have one with your children which they have outgrown but refuse to let go? I’d love to know.

Linking up with #MondayMusings

And also with Mackenzie at Reflections from Me

52 Replies to “Holding onto childhood traditions #MondayMusings”

  1. Haha! Strange creatures! Can you believe we never followed the ‘tooth fairy’ story? I should call Mom right away to get back all the money I could’ve collected. 🙂

  2. I have to tell you I am upset that this post ended too soon when I wanted it to go on and on. I wanted to know about how it all started, how was it when H and N lost their first teeth. I wanted to know more about their pocket money stories.
    In my home, with D losing 2 teeth, I think I have begun a tradition of keeping them safely in a small plastic box. It would sound gross but I want to store away all his milk teeth as and when they fall. I don’t know what I will do with all the 20 teeth in that box later on.
    You may also assume that this is the result of me being lazy to go out and bury those teeth in the mud, as I was advised by my MIL. I don’t have potted plants at home and I have a history of never giving up to her fancies 😀

    1. You’re funny. And sweet too. I really never had the patience to preserve their teeth. They just went into the flower pots. Oh BTW if you google ‘toothfairy’ on my blog you’ll find all their tooth posts.

  3. That is super sweet. I am amazed at how much kids know these days. We were so clueless. We believed whatever our parents said. And I can’t recall any such tradition. I guess we were very low-key generation. But I wish, we had!

    1. That we were. These new age children have too much ‘tashan’. We were way more no-nonsense, but then that came from our parents. We indulge our kids more than our parents ever did us.

  4. Awww, that was such a cute post! I just told my nephew who has not lost a single tooth yet, about how if and when he does lose, the tooth fairy will drop in and gift him something! 🙂
    The childhood tradition I remember is mother doing the aarti on our birthdays. How we used to love the attention, the aarti and all. Mother did the aarti till some time back, but then, I asked her to stop it because I have ‘grown up’ now! 😛 However, now, in my 40s, I wish she would begin it again…so I get to feel pampered all over again!

  5. Our tooth fairies visited us twice in two weeks. With the girls 6 and 9, we are close to being busted, but I hope like Santa, Tinkerbell and fairy holes in trees, they will believe a little longer. Pomp and circumstance seem fitting to keep them young for an added tooth or two! #mg xoxo

  6. Your post is layered with such warmth of memories and love that I want to hug it! Beautifully written Tulika -I meandered in it till the end and wished it hadnt!!!
    I dont remember much of my childhood traditions by now- I think tooth fairy didnt happen with me. .Oh wait I had atleast 6 baby teeth pulled out by the dentist as they wouldnt fall on their own – Ouch!! Thats why no tooth fairy!

    1. Oh N also had to get two teeth pulled out because new ones were sprouting and the old ones refused to go. But she asked the dentist for the teeth and wrote a long letter to the tooth fairy explaining how it hurt so very much and that’s why the fairy needed to be more generous than usual. Oh she has a head for business, this N.

  7. I really didn’t want to give up Santa as a child, Aspen was the same, but now she knows, my other two still believe. Yes we are still doing the tooth fairy here too, it is hard to remember isn’t it! Mine like glitter sprinkled around too, last time April lost a tooth she left a note asking the tooth fairy her age and where she lives, I had to write in miniature lol #mg

  8. So adorable, Tulika!
    It’s cute that they continue it, even though they know it’s not true. Like you rightly said, it’s like a little tradition.

  9. What a heart-warming post. My parents aren’t there anymore so I unfortunately I can’t stick to them anymore but I love to implement the same for my little sonny. For example: He has to earn his pocket money @50p per star he gets everyday for doing something good

    1. That’s exactly what’s the funny part. I can roll my eyes all I want but I do the whole thing. Oh and she was so thrilled this time, not for the money but because I remembered :-).

  10. I think kissing my Dad on his cheeks everytime I say bye to him, when he goes out of the house or I do, before going to bed. I still do it and I think I’ll always keep doing it. Hold on to these, hold on for dear life, I say. Give my love to N 🙂

  11. This was so cute. I was smiling and rolling my eyes. 🙂 I really can’t think of any similar tradition. My kids never really believed in both Santa or tooth fairy so I never bothered to even keep up a charade. But their innocence is something I would love to hold on to for as long as possible.

  12. Ahh childhood traditions are the best. I always remember opening my Christmas stocking when I was little and wondering if it would ever happen that I would be too old. And then, just like that, Christmas became hanging out with my friends with no need for presents anymore. Hold on to those traditions for as long as you can X #MG

  13. What a lovely post Tulika.We are having tooth fairy visiting at our home too and its really sweet how children accept the normal phenomenon of gifts for each tooth

  14. 🙂 How sweet! Well I hope you put the cash under the pillow for her to find it!

    Well I rebelled and planted the tooth hoping it would grow into a tooth plant! I had the tradition of eating a spoon of milk powder, which i generously passed on to my son…and he still follows it sincerely…now… whenever he’s home. And yes, both of us feel ridiculous and laugh our heads off with the spoon of powder in the mouth because it comes out in a whoosh and is so annoying!

  15. Santa Claus… Teen still expects a gift! N I have to rack my brains over what he needs this time!
    For me, my special tea mug… Have one at my home and one at mom’s, which she never fails to serve tea in whenever I visit… Chai is always xtra special in it!

    1. Ha ha.. Santa shall never go away. Oh and I have a favourite mug too, given to me by a dear friend. Chai does taste sweeter in your special mug. Thanks for dropping by.

  16. Awww… she wants to grow up but doesn’t want to let go her mommy’s hand just yet. God bless her. My daughter is 28 years old and still insists on the whole decorating the Xmas tree every year. This year we had ordered the tree online but it was delayed. The tree would have reached us after Xmas. My daughter was furious and wrote a polite but firm email to them. The tree was delivered well before Xmas 🙂

    1. Ha ha.. I love that spirit. It’s wonderful when you see your children all grown up and taking charge of things. That would be such a great feeling.

  17. Okay you made me sniff and sniffle here. I hate the fact that these kids are growing up. They are getting too big to hold on our laps. But Gy did that today. Needed a snuggle since she had a headache and for a few minutes I didn’t want to let go. That warmth, that love that innocence. It’s so precious. N is adorable and I hope you can come up with a way to keep the tooth fairy alive for a long long time to come. Sigh.

    1. I know. It’s the cutest when they try to fit into our laps now. H does it sometimes and it’s funny because he almost as tall as I am. And he’s going to kill me for saying this here :-).

  18. Strange creatures, these kids. Hahaha.

    Trust me, some parents do provide the right motivation for non-parents like me 😛

    1. Soumya pitching parenting as the ultimate fulfilling experience for a woman is just not right. Like everything else, it should also be only one part of a woman’s life. If we look at it like that, it would take the pressure off and become fun, just like it should be.

  19. That is a lovely post. My son saw an episode of ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches’ where they keep the tooth under the pillow and next day morning it had turned into a gold tooth. Ever since he insists on keeping the tooth under his pillow. When I was a kid we used to throw the fallen tooth into the hole of a mouse (any hole basically) I tried doing that with my son but he just wants to keep it under his pillow.

  20. Aww Tulika this is the cutest thing I read today. For me it’s going to be Santa Claus. My dotty will turn 3 this December and I have already told her a lot about Santa Claus and how he brings presents and leaves them in stockings. I need to keep repeating as she is young and I will let her live this fantasy for s few tears like I did. It’s amazing

    1. Thanks Akshata. Oh we’re through with Santa. I remember N was inconsolable when we told her he didn’t exist. How she cried! But it’s all part of growing up.

    1. That’s nice. Our grandma used to put some little bit of tea in our milk and that used to thrill us so. Even now somedays I call my mom when I am having my mid-morning tea and she’s having hers at the same time.

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