The tooth fairy left a promise and I forgot to keep that too

I forgot the tooth. Then I left a note saying the tooth fairy would return the next night.

I forgot the next night too.

My six-year-old brought me the note at breakfast. He said, “She wrote tomorrow.”

I said she might be very busy.

He asked why she wrote it if she was busy.

This was turning into a performance review for an employee I had invented.

We do the tooth fairy in our house. He enjoys setting things out and wondering how the exchange happens. I'm not seeking a verdict on whether every family should do it. I am dealing with one child and two nights of my own forgetfulness.

The note had been my clever repair. It also gave him something definite to expect.

I didn't want to keep adding explanations about traffic, holidays or unusually demanding teeth. Each explanation would require another detail the incident hadn't established.

I said I was sorry the promised visit hadn't happened and that I would make sure the exchange was sorted that day. I kept that promise.

He put the note in a drawer. He says he will show it to the fairy next time.

I have suggested we use the little tooth box on the dresser for the next exchange rather than invent another complicated delivery arrangement. He agreed, then asked whether we needed a sign-in sheet.

I told him probably not.

He is leaving space for one anyway.