Binkies and Fairy Dust.

Awhile back I posted about the binky issue that has hung over our heads for the past three years. Eventually, Jess only used it at naptime and bedtime, but it would always make an appearance throughout the day. It was always a battle and struggles to pry it from her tiny hands. It took endless conversations of pleading and begging to persuade her to tuck it away in a drawer or place it on the nightstand for bedtime.

A little over a week ago, I hit a wall. I came to the point where I was ready for binky to be gone, whether my child was on board or not. My boys never used one and I never thought it would be an issue with Jess, but it is. And all those tales of pushing the teeth forward? Well, they’re true. I can see it in her smile, her top four teeth slightly moved forward because of the damn binky.

So last week, as I hit my wall, I put my foot down and announced it was time to give up binky. I suggested we hang it on the tree and perhaps the fairies would come and take it away. My concept was well accepted, even accompanied by a small amount of excitement. This excitement quickly turned into a panic when bedtime rolled around and Jessica cried and pleaded for her binky. But my feet were standing firm on the ground. It had fallen out of the car when we arrived home from dinner and Jessica knew exactly where it fell on our dirty garage floor. To amuse her, and give myself five minutes to come up with a plan, I offered to walk downstairs and see if it was there.

My super swift mom mind quickly took over and created a moment of magic, or so I thought. To my surprise, the binky was gone! When I ran I upstairs to share the news Jess beamed with excitement and curiosity. She wanted to see for herself. So we whisked across the wooden hallway and carefully, yet quickly, tiptoed downstairs. With the chill of winter in the air I told her to put her slippers on before we stole away into the darkness. As she slipped her Hello Kitty slippers on my super swift mom mind returned and I grabbed a handful of sparkly sprinkles and tossed them onto the garage floor.

Her smile glowed with wonder. He voice elevated and rose as she softly shouted out. Her eyes gleamed. The binky was magically and mystically gone, and in its place was a pile of fairy dust, sparkling silently in the darkness.

I know I lied. There’s certainly no pride in that, but I will have that moment of magical fairies and sparkling dust embedded in my mind for a lifetime. My children will eventually realize there is no binky fairy but I hope they will always cherish the time when we ran to the garage, gliding on air, to see the magic for our own eyes. I know there is no magic, but I felt it for a few minutes. I felt it in my heart and on the goose bumps that danced across my skin. I felt it with my children, in their voices and excitement, their joy and glee. And that is all the magic I need to make my heart happy.