text: Thelma loved her binkies. They made her feel calm and happy. Thelma and her binkies had been together since the day she was born. She knew that, because she had a Binky in her mouth in the picture that Mommy showed her, from the day that they first met. Blue Binky was Thelma‘s favorite pacifier. That was the one she put in her mouth. Pink Binky, and Purple Binky were too small for her now, but she still liked to hold them while she slept. Thelma had her binkies all through the night. At bedtime, she put on cozy pajamas, and then Mommy would help her get her binkies down from the dresser. It was always a joyful reunion as Thelma sat with her pacifiers and listened to Mommy read a bedtime story. When the story was over, Mommy always closed the book, covered Thelma with her soft, fuzzy blanket, kissed her on the head, and turned off the light. Then, she would close Thelma‘s door, and Thelma would drift off sleep with Blue Binky in her mouth, snuggling Pink and Purple Binky. If she ever woke in the night to find that Blue Binky had fallen out of her mouth, she just popped it back in, and slept peacefully until morning. When she woke up for real, Mommy let her have her binkies on the couch while they watched one show. She had to put them back on top of the dresser before she ate breakfast, because that was Mommy’s rule. “Binkies are for night- night,” Mommy reminded her, if she ever thought about protesting. Thelma rarely ever complained when it was time to put her binkies away. She trusted that she’d see them again soon, at nap time. Life was good for Thelma. She liked things just as they were. That all changed at her first visit to the dentist. The dentist office was big, and bright. Thelma was nervous as she sat in the cold chair in the examine room. The chair could lay back, and also move up, and down. She had to wear a bib, and Thelma didn’t like that. The hygienist took strange pictures of Thelma’s teeth, called x-rays. Then she counted each tooth. Thelma was surprised to learn that she had 20 teeth in her mouth. Next, the hygienist polished Thelma’s teeth with a fancy toothbrush. It tickled her tongue. Once her teeth were clean, they were rinsed. Then the water, bubble gum flavored toothpaste, and Thelma’s spit were sucked out of her mouth with a special straw. The last thing the hygienist did was paint something sticky on top of Thelma’s big back teeth. “All clean and shiny. No eating crunchy things for two hours. The dentist will be in shortly to have a look,” the hygienist said, once she was finished. The dentist popped in, and looked in Thelma’s mouth. He poked around with a little mirror on a stick. “No cavities, but Thelma, your pacifier is ruining your teeth. They’re starting to stick out. It will only get worse if you keep using one,” the dentist explained. “Time to get rid of the pacifiers,” he told her mommy. Thelma was silent as she walked out of the dental office. She burst into tears when Mommy buckled her into her car seat. “I’ll miss my Binkies! I need them!” she sobbed. “Thelma, we don’t have to get rid of them today, but we need to think about doing it soon,” Mommy tried to soothe her. Thelma cried the whole way home. Mommy carried her inside the house, where Thelma refused lunch. “I’m tired. I need to take a nap,” Thelma wailed. Mommy carried Thelma into her bedroom. She took the binkies off of the dresser and handed them to her. Thelma took them, and sank down into her bed. Mommy tucked her in with her soft blanket, and she instantly fell asleep. Thelma’s mommy had to wake her three hours later. The binkies went back to their spot up on the dresser, and Thelma ate a late lunch. Mommy made broccoli mac and cheese, her favorite. Thelma ate three bowlfuls. Weeks passed, and nothing more was said about Thelma and her binkies. Thelma thought that maybe her Mommy had forgotten what the dentist said. She didn’t dare ask, because she didn’t want to remind her. Everything changed one night during the week before Thelma’s fourth birthday. Thelma took her bath, put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and climbed into her bed. “Binkies, please, Mommy,” she said, as she placed her head on her pillow. Mommy got the binkies off of the dresser and handed them to Thelma. Thelma popped Blue Binky into her mouth. She could tell right away that something was wrong. She went to suck on her pacifier, but it didn’t work. Thelma spit it out and studied it. She noticed that there was a small hole in the top. “Oh no,” Thelma gasped. She checked Pink Binky and Purple Binky. There were small holes in those ones, too. “What happened?” Thelma asked. “I guess they’re broken,” Mommy told her. Thelma was suspicious. They were fine when she saw them earlier, at nap time. “We have to fix them,” Thelma insisted. “I don’t think we can,” Mommy said. “But I need them,” Thelma tried again. “You can still hold them,” Mommy suggested. Thelma felt like crying, but she didn’t. “Can we get new ones?” she wanted to know. “No, we can’t get new ones. But you can hold onto those binkies while you sleep,” Mommy reminded her. “Will you stay with me?” Thelma asked. “I’ll sit in here with you for a little bit,” Mommy said. She kissed Thelma’s head, turned out the light, and sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed. Thelma cradled her binkies in her hands. It felt so strange to not have Blue Binky in her mouth, but Blue Binky was still right here. Thelma rubbed Blue Binky across her cheek. She tossed and turned for quite a while. She was used to falling asleep right away, and the fact that she was still awake made her feel anxious. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get something that might help you,” Mommy promised. She came back in the room holding a small bottle of spray. “I’m going to spray this on your pillow. It might help you relax,” Mommy said. She picked up Thelma’s pillow and spritzed it with something that smelled like purple. Thelma didn’t know what the scent was, but to her, it seemed purple. Mommy put the pillow back on Thelma’s bed, and tucked her back in. “I need to go finish the dishes. I’ll come check on you when I’m finished. Goodnight, Thelma,” Mommy said, as she closed the door. Thelma took a deep breath. Her room was dark, but she didn’t feel scared. She just felt tired. Thelma rolled over, closed her eyes, and drifted off to asleep. When she woke up, the sun was shining through her curtains. “Mommy! Mommy!” she cried. Mommy came rushing in to Thelma’s room. “Good morning!” she chirped. “I sleeped all night without my binkies!” Thelma exclaimed. “You did it! I knew you could,” Mommy said, leaning down to hug her. Thelma’s heart swelled with pride. “I’m getting bigger!” Thelma giggled. “You’re growing up!” Mommy agreed. Thelma jumped out of bed and handed her binkies to her mommy. “You can put them away, Mommy. I don’t need them right now,” Thelma said. “Would you like to go out for breakfast to celebrate?” Mommy asked. “Yes! I want to have pancakes!” Thelma cried. She jumped out of bed, got herself dressed, and then went potty. She brushed her teeth, and put her shoes on, all by herself. She felt taller, stronger, older, and more capable today than she ever had before. Thelma followed Mommy out the door, and grinned all the way to the restaurant.