my yin: toughest woman on Earth

Last night my yin and I babysat the daughter of a friend of ours.  First, let me clarify, when I say "we," I really mean "she" because S____, like most of our friends' children above the age of 18 months seemed to be utterly mortified by my mere presence.  This is especially disturbing and unfortunate, especially when one is babysitting in his own home.

But this is beside the point.

The point is that, mortification notwithstanding, last night taught me a lot about kids in general, and 7 year-old girls specifically.  For example, seven is old enough to be largely self-sufficient, but still young enough to want constant attention.  As a result, we colored, beaded, and watched My Little Pony for most of last night.

(Again, by "we" I mean "she".)

During all this, I was stowed safely in the kitchen cooking up a plain pan of vegetables that would ultimately see itself doused in butter.  Apparently seven year-olds love butter, and I myself have a strong memory of eating giant pads of butter (I called them "mounds") plopped atop prepackaged rolls in my grandmother's kitchen.

This is also beside the point.

The point is that sometime during all this cooking, S____ alerted my yin that one of her baby teeth was loose. My yin, ever fearless, led her to the bathroom while I, like a true coward, shouted behind them, "I'll make some salt water to rinse afterward."

My yin was unplussed by this turn of events and emerged mere minutes later with a tiny baby tooth, which looked much smaller than those I remember them from childhood. I suppose that's what growing older is in many ways – learning that these small losses, these pieces of our being that get lost along the way, are always larger in our memories than in the moments when we truly see them again.

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And yes, the tooth fairy still makes her rounds during the night...