big boy B and update on "blank"

Two major events happened in the life of Brandon today:

1. First loose tooth

2. Baby blanket put away

The nightly toothbrushing ritual consists of checking for missed spots (there's always gunk on the same front teeth). I noticed that his bottom tooth was leaning a bit to the side. Crouched down with my nose all up in his face and tried to figure out what was going on, as if I had never seen this phenomenon before. "Oh, it's loose!" He walked out of the bathroom with a glowing smile, circling around in the upstairs hall. Nearly 7, first loose tooth!

Tucking in for bed. Do you want me to cover you with your blanket? No, I want to be a big boy now. Where do you want me to put it? In my drawer under the bed.

He had offered to pass the old blanket down to Claire a couple of days earlier. My husband retorted--"No, that nasty thing is getting retired!" I have to admit that it is a bit old--my 17-year-old's original crib blanket. I've replaced the batting once and it is pretty much a thin sheet of faded material with some random chunks of cotton hanging on in various places.

So there it sits, safely under the bed. Close enough for comfort, yet far away enough to make him feel like he's a big boy. And, in fact, he is, and I'm the one who can't always see it--or is it that I don't want to?