Didi

Ethan named his blanket once he was old enough to give anything a name. He has been a thumb-and-blanket addict since I weaned him at six months, so he’s a great sleeper as a result. Who can complain when a six-year-old still naps and sleeps eleven hours at night?

Our pediatrician agreed. “Kids usually give up these things on their own at about age six.” She gave Eth a reassuring pat on the back and turned to me, “So don’t rush it.”

“It does become an issue when his adult teeth start coming in,” said the dentist last fall, when Ethan turned six. He peered into Ethan’s mouth, and then turned to me with that light bulb visor that made him look like a viperfish, “and his molars are already in, so anytime now, Mom.”

Didi really became a problem when Eth wanted to have overnight plans with his friends. I just couldn’t picture him going directly from playing with Star Wars Legos to Didi and thumb-sucking. How embarrassing! He couldn’t do sleepovers, and by the time Eth was six, the doctor and dentist agreed: It was time to give up Didi.

My husband and I cooked up plans for Didi’s removal. First, we’d cut pieces from Didi each night until Didi was gone. No way! Ethan wouldn’t hear of it! Then there was the Didi Fairy. She would take Didi from Ethan in the night, and leave a special gift, like a skateboard.

“How would I be rested enough to even ride the skateboard without a good night’s sleep from Didi?” Ethan argued. Kirk and I finally decided that we’d take Ethie on a long vacation and mistakenly leave Didi there. It was cruel, but it would work.

Then a miracle happened. In November, for his birthday, Ethan got a new bike with hand brakes. Two months ago, Ethan took a corner too fast and fell off the bike. He skinned the shit out of his sucking thumb. As I bandaged his ravaged finger, I thought, “This is my opportunity!”

That night, after I read Ethan his bedtime story, I said, “Ethie, this bandage is going to be here for a long time. If you can’t suck the thumb, do you really need Didi?”

“No, I guess not,” he shrugged, handing me his beloved Didi without hesitation.

Ethan has been thumb-and-Didi free for eight weeks now. His thumbnail even grew back normally. Yesterday, he asked me for overnight plans with his friend, Walter. I don’t mean to call Ethan’s fall a miracle, but Fortune brings gifts in unexpected ways. And if you don’t believe in Fortune, there’s always the Didi Fairy!