we're getting on in life...

For long, it had been one of Sonny boy's ardent desires to get one.
A had it, C had it, J P and M had it and S had two! Only he hadn't.

Every day in the school bus, those who had would flaunt it and leave Sonny boy longing for one of his own. It put him in the same league as the big boys.
When would he get one? he used to ask.
An impatient Amma would shoo him off, saying that he was better off as he was, and didn't he have anything better to yearn after.
A doting Acha would say, I think what you have is so much better than A, C, J,P M And S.

Finally this month- his B'day month, when he turned all of 6 yrs old, his parents thought it was getting time for him also to get the longed-for-thing.

Two weeks back, he got a hint that it was on its way.

Every day would be spent in checking if it was time yet for him to get it.

Finally last night, he got it.

His precious gap tooth.

Yes, Sonny boy's milk tooth is out! The bottom right one.

He pulled it out himself in the end. With help from the Acha.

Yesterday was when he came to me delightedly saying, "Amma, look my tooth is REALLY loose." And sure enough, it was hanging on by its last root. It was really delightful to see the tooth jutting out when he pushed with his tongue. The Acha and Amma were thrilled that Sonny boy was finally going to have it off. Was becoming a big boy, in Sonny boy's words.

The Amma kept up the encouragement from a distance. The Acha was all for yanking it out. He sat with Sonny boy on the stairs, on the first step giving little nudges to the tooth.
As matters progressed, Sony boy reached upto the fifth step.

Sonny boy was in a frenzy of delight that his tooth was finally going to come off. But he hadn't expected the pain!
Amma, its paining! he said in between excited grins and offended glares at the Acha.
No gain without pain, sternly quoted the Amma who knew the Acha's fingers were itching to do the job. Pull it up yourself, till you feel the pain and then yank!

Finally seated on the fifth step, with said tooth on its last legs, Sonny boy gave a pull himself and OUT it came!

Yay!!! Time for delighted smiles all around. No matter that one was a little bloody.

The Acha and Amma are gung ho that it came out sans any tears. Given that the Acha remembers his first was certainly not a happy experience (am sure that means that he brought the house down)and the Amma remembers howling her head off when her Mom pulled out her first loose tooth (as well as the adjacent tooth, no kidding!)

And yet, the Amma can't help feeling a little sad that her little guy is growing up. Don't grow too fast, son.

Oh! and the tooth fairy gave Sonny boy a Dairy milk and a coin.

random laughs.

The last time my Mom was coming over, Sonny boy tom-tommed all over that his grandmother was coming to be with him.

Grandmoms being a favourite species with young kids, the day she arrived, in the evening, Sonny boy's best friend A,a Tamilian boy, came eagerly knocking.

"Sonny boy, where's your paati? Show me your paati".

Sonny boy collapsed in gales of shocked laughter.

"Amma!", he shrieked between the laughs. A's telling me bad things, he's asking me where's my POTTY!!!! and he rolled his eyes at me, guffawing.

An affronted A told me, "Sonny boy's being a very bad boy. He's not showing me his paati".

Sonny boy literally rolled on the floor laughing!!!

Amma hid her grin from the nonplussed A and explained to Sonny boy that Paati meant Ammamma in Tamil. Sonny boy finally got it, but it can still send him off into peals of mirth.