Preface: Since April, I’ve been staying with a family here in Nashville who have a 5 year old named Judah and a 2 & 1/2 year old named Miriam (or Mira or Mirayummy as she is sometimes called). Judah has quite an imaginative mind, and never fails to engage me in some interesting conversations. So this morning, as soon as I got up, he rushes to tell me something very important:
Judah: Christy, guess what?
Christy: What, Judah?
Judah: Peter Pan came and visited me last night. NOT the tooth fairy – just Peter Pan (FYI – Judah has a loose tooth – his first – so we’ve been talking about the Tooth Fairy a lot).
Christy: Oh really – that’s cool. Did he fly through your window?
Judah: Yes, and he was waving a gold piece of paper. I tried finding it after he left, but I think he hid it from me.
Judah: I don’t want the tooth fairy to come visit me when I loose my tooth – just Peter Pan.
Christy: And remind me what you want the Tooth Fairy – errr, umm – I mean Peter Pan to leave under your pillow (FYI – Judah had mentioned the other day that he wanted about 10,000 pieces of candy left under his pillow)
Judah: Well, I want bunches and bunches of candy and about $1,099.
Christy: Wow, $1,099? (as my mind begins to race about what I could do with that amount of money). Say, if Peter Pan leaves that much money on your pillow, I may have to hit you up for a small loan, ok?!
Judah: Why would you have to hit me? I’d just give you some money. But only if you let me watch some Pirate videos on your computer.
Christy: Judah – if you loaned me a few hundred dollars of that money – then you could watch Pirate videos until the cows come home.
Judah: Ok – it’s a deal then! In fact, I hope Peter Pan leaves me a hundred hundred, thousand thousanths one millionths one hundred thousanths thousanths dollars.
Christy: (smiling with some greedy little thoughts) – Ok Judah – I have no idea what that adds up to, but it sounds like a lot of money, so I think you should give me half if I’m going to let you watch videos till the cows come home.
Judah: (with a big smile on his face) – Ok, it’s a deal.
Christy: Shake on it? (as I thrust out my hand)
Judah: (Shakes his head gleefully up and down and shakes my hand)
Christy: Actually Judah, I believe in written contracts, so I think we should write something up about this agreement.
Judah: (like a lamb before the slaughter – meaning – very innocently): Ok!
I proceed to rip out a piece of paper from my journal.
Judah: But Christy I don’t know how to write.
Christy: (like a greedy lawyer) It’s ok Judah – I’ll write the contract and all you have to do is sign it.
Judah: But I don’t know how to sign my name.
Christy: All you have to do is scribble something – it’s the same thing as signing your name.
Then I proceed to write out the following:
“I Judah Rees Todd do hereby promise to give Miss Christy one half of my Tooth Fairy Peter Pan money should he leave me at least $1,099. Signed in Pirate Blood this day of August 26, 2009″
I then signed my name and gave the pen to Judah to scribble his signature on the page.
Then we both prayed, “Dear God – please bring Peter Pan and all his money and candy to our house tonight.” – Amen!
Me thinks we both may learn a thing or two before this whole thing is over….
