I received the most amazing email the other day.
My soon to be five-year-old still uses his pacifier at night and we’ve been telling him the binky fairy will be coming to get them…Any type of fairy costume would be fine, flexible schedule (just needs to be sometime late July in the evening.)
OMG…the memories of should or shouldn’t I use the binky with my first child, we didn’t and he cried through the night for eight months. The second kid, we decided…screw the huge overbite and the funky teeth…give her the binky. Aaaah, sweet sleep! What joy, until she was turning two and it was time for the binky to go, according to our doctor. It was heart wrenching to watch this contented little baby turn into a bloodcurdling fist-pummeling SCREAM of WHY THIS TORTURE!!! On our behalf, she only took two nights to get over it and never even remembers having a binky. But do we as parents ever recover? It left its little scar. I don’t even remember what happened with baby #3, I was so exhausted from having three young children and just surviving the laundry load.
So imagine my joy, that someone actually wanted me to be the magical binky fairy. I wish that I had been that inventive as to think of actually asking someone to come and make this magical character come true.
Of course I would do it, I told the Mama. We set a date just before David’s birthday, at the end of July. I was going to adjust Princess Rosy Rosebud’s costume just a little. The plan was to attach some binky’s and some small gifts to the Princess dress. I also attached a small, pretty box, just large enough to hold a binky to the dress around waist level.
I arrived at David’s house, about an hour before bedtime. As I got out of the car, two old men chatting about tools, gave me that “What the…” look that so often happens when I show up in costume in Suburbia. I gave them a big smile and explained pointing at the binky’s on my dress, that I was the binky fairy. Big smiles…they either finally do believe in magic or in women gone mad! Either Way…
David’s mama gave me a nervous smile. I hope she knew how much my heart was with her, how many of us go through this tiny hell.
“Hi David”. He was sitting in one of those little armchairs for kids watching a show. His mouth genuinely turned into a perfect “O” of amazement. Dear Lord, please do not let me frighten this child, I fervently prayed. In the softest voice I could find, I told him. “I am the binky fairy. It’s good to meet you, David.” He mouthed “hi.” “May I sit down?” Mouth went back to its “O”.
I explained that I visited big kids who were ready to give up their binkys so that little babies who really needed them could each receive a binky from me, the binky fairy. David didn’t scream. He didn’t cry. He didn’t anything. He just sat there with his big “O”.
I showed him my magical dress. “Here are the binky’s from the children I have already visited this evening.” I explained about Max, who was very frightened of giving up the binky, and about Sam, who was a little concerned, but knew that I could bring the binky back if he really needed it at night, to Joey who decided he would much rather have the toy dog on my dress than a binky, ‘cos he was a big kid now.
I showed David the toys that I still had on my dress. There was a little dog, there was a Spongebob- Patrick Sticker and then there was the box that David was supposed to put his binky into.
He told me he liked the white and brown dog and he liked the sticker.
David’s mama, sitting close, silently smiled, her face still clenched white.
Then I told David the binky fairy version of “The Three Little Pigs”. He laughed. He really laughed. He joined in, acting out all the roles, especially the big bad wolf. He has a really great growl. At the end of this version, the big bad wolf doesn’t try to eat the pigs, he just asks them for their binky’s as he has little wolf pups mewing through the night who really need binkys.
When the story was done, I asked him if he was ready to give me his binky. He only had one left, and he only used it at night. David told me that perhaps I might want to come back the following morning and get it then.
My heart was sinking. It wasn’t going to work. Mama and I had already decided that this would be okay. It was still a start.
I wasn’t going to give up on this challenge. I’m the BINKY FAIRY for goodness sakes.
“Remember how I told you that I give the binky’s to the little babies who really need them. Well, I am about to visit this one little baby and she really cries if she doesn’t have a binky. I would also exchange your binky for one of these gifts on my dress.” I gently confided in him.
“Okay mom, go get my binky and give it to the binky fairy!” Mama looked like she was about to faint. I felt quite faint myself.
David put the yellow binky in my binky box. He told me, he would like to take the dog. He called it the Floppy Dog. It had little brown floppy ears. He gave me a hug. He gave me a HUG! Then he asked me how I was going to leave.
I said that I would fly over his house and out into the stars beyond. If he looked really carefully at the stars, he might see me waving hello.
David’s mama wrote to me the next day.
Nicole-
He went to sleep without his binky!!!!!!!!! We have been waiting for this for years. I can’t thank you enough.
Let me know if you ever need a referral or endorsement.
Well, David’s mama, you gave me permission to put this story on my blog. That is endorsement enough.
Thank you for allowing me to be your Binky Fairy.
