Spare Some Change?

There are a lot of hard things about being a single parent. Many of these things are chronicled in various Lifetime Movies, such as money problems, no emotional support, no one to hand the kid off to when you just can't take any more. But nobody ever thinks about the little things. For example:

Last night at 9:30, with the kid supposedly in bed and me in my jammies watching some Sex and the City in bed, ready to crash out for the night, he came wandering into my room with a mouth full of toilet paper. The tooth that had been wiggling for weeks had finally come out. He may be a little old, but still, kids get money when they loose a tooth, no questions asked.

So here it is, after bed time, the house all quiet and turned off, a tooth I owe money for, and me with no cash. What do I do? Do I shove a bunch of coins under his pillow? Do I write him a check or I.O.U.? Maybe some cigarettes.

I got lucky and found a stray dollar, which I know is a little low for the going rate nowdays, but it had to suffice. I'd better take inventory of his teeth and make a stash of emergency dollars, I guess.