Written and Edited - June 2nd, 2017 - 11:37 am to 12:07 pm
Edited - June 8th, 2017 - 3:37 pm to 3:48 pm
The Truth Fairy
When my teeth fell out as a young person and part of growing up, I got visits from the Tooth Fairy. From what I remember, I put my teeth under my pillow. When I woke up, I got some money, I think quarters and later a few dollars. But even better than the money were notes. I got special notes from the Tooth Fairy that were written or expressed with thoughtful words and a self portrait.
Well, since the Tooth Fairy looked just like my father, I knew that my father was the Tooth Fairy.
So at one point, I told my father that I knew he was the Tooth Fairy. But he denied it. Well, that exchange went on back and forth for awhile. I continued to tell him that I knew he was the Tooth Fairy. And my father continued to respond or tell me no, he's not.
Finally, after several exchanges I gave up on confirming I knew the truth to my father. I figured we both knew the truth and I didn't see the point in telling my father I knew the truth and confirming that we both knew the truth.
I treasure that experience and those notes. And my understanding of aspects of those experiences have expanded as my journey has continued.
That experience showed my father expressing his love and affection for me. And I see additional aspects in the context of the culture. I was paid for my teeth and I could use the money for whatever I wanted. I've heard about and seen other people selling body parts (theirs and others) to sustain their and/or their families/other loved ones, community members survival. They found themselves in a desperate financial position or situation due to an economic money debt based system and the ways that things are structured, including social constructs.
For example, I talked with housemates at the shelter when I was a resident. Some of them sold their plasma for some money. And they talked about selling their plasma more than 1 time. They had it down to a science.
So, when I was a child, I saw the Tooth Fairy experience in some ways with my experiences then. But as I added experiences I also added perspectives. Now, at age 49 years old, I see my Tooth Fairy experience both individually, and in the context of family and culture dynamics. So, even though I wasn't aware of some other factors like class, race, maybe gender, my experience intersected with others because we're all part of a culture as a whole, no matter how aware we are or not.