Ever this Day, Be at My Side

Growing—and then losing—teeth is a very big deal for the first decade(s) of your life as a parent. When our oldest son started teething as an infant, I actually said the words, “Let’s wait to set a schedule until after he stops teething.” So wide-eyed and optimistic. It didn’t dawn on me that tooth-growing lasts for years and years. (My husband was kind enough not to correct me.) It comes as a shock, then, that our youngest son is working on losing the last of his baby teeth. It’s a weird milestone to reach. Last night, long past bed-time, he succeeded in losing the second-to-last tooth. Of course I made myself scarce as he gave his dad a blow-by-blow of his progress. With that in mind, I thought I would share some of my wisdom dating back to 2010.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­INECK HOUSE RULES regarding the care and keeping of your teeth:

1. You may only pull out a tooth when Daddy is at home; accidental lost teeth are

exempt.

What’s not said: Mommy is creeped out when you rip your teeth out of your

mouth before bedtime and Daddy is working late.

2. You may not pull out a tooth if it wasn’t already loose.

What’s not said: See above.

3. The tooth fairy leaves her home at 9 pm, so any tooth lost after that time will

not be collected until the following night (so long as you’re asleep by 9 pm on

the subsequent night).

What’s not said: Losing teeth should not be viewed as a way to earn quick cash,

or as a valid reason to stay up late.

4. You must actually brush your teeth, not just swish with Agent Cool Blue

mouthwash.

What’s not said: Mommy is mortified at Mass when she discovers your teeth are

tinted blue. Daddy is infinitely amused.

The thing that strikes me most about the above rules is that there was a lot of expectation that the children should be asleep by 9 pm. What golden years those were! I’m not sure the Tooth Fairy has visited regularly for the past couple of years because, with three teens in the house, the 12-year-old isn’t in a hurry to hit the sack. For a long time, I felt terrible that the Tooth Fairy never visited him as punctually as she ought. Did he miss out on the magic of childhood? Or worse: is having the Tooth Fairy as (a very small) part of our family culture detrimental to the kids’ faith? It dawned on me today that we have a much more powerful friend than a mythical fairy who creeps to the kids’ bedside at night: we have an entire host of angels to guide and protect us.

We celebrated the archangels last week for Michaelmas and now the Feast of the Guardian Angels is upon us. Most religions and spiritual disciplines express a belief in angels, although the definition of an angel differs from one faith tradition to the next. In the Catholic tradition, we actually have a lot of knowledge about angels, as offered by the stories in the Old and New Testaments. We know that the word angel means messenger, and we know that angels are created beings, just as animals and humans are. They are pure spirit and they have intellect and free will, but because they do not have bodies, they do not have the five senses and they do not die. Interestingly, they also do not grow in intelligence! There are nine choirs of angels in order from the highest (in closest proximity to God) to the lowest (in closest proximity to humans), and each choir has its own duties and abilities associated with it. An angel does not move in rank but they do communicate with each other. My heart always squeezes a bit when I hear the choirs called upon at Mass as we join them in praise during the Sanctus.

Guardian Angels comprise the lowest choir whose sole purpose is to pray for and assist humans. Read that again: a Guardian Angel’s sole purpose is to pray for and assist humans. We teach our children at young ages to request aid from our Guardian Angels, but we often forget to ask for assistance as we grow. It’s almost as though we relegate a devotion to Guardian Angels to the same belief we once had in the Tooth Fairy! So, how do we approach developing a relationship with our Guardian Angel?

Talk to them! Ask them for guidance and assistance, and ask them to pray for your prayer intentions. Ask them to accompany a loved-one when you are particularly concerned about their well-being. Sometimes I think to ask my Guardian Angel to go talk with my kids’ Guardian Angels if we are at odds: afterward our conversations tend to go a lot smoother. I often awaken in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. When that happens, I ask my Guardian Angel to tell me who needs prayer at that moment: there is always a response, whether it’s a person I know by name, or a vague “someone needs prayer in this location.” (Speaking of names, keep in mind that naming people is a way to exert power over them. Don’t fall into the trap of naming your Guardian Angel.) Remember that your Guardian Angel has been waiting their entire existence specifically for the opportunity to protect you: they have so much love for you and find so much delight in guiding and defending you!