My son has a high pain tolerance

I know you are my people, so I know you understand the very specific, late-night panic that comes with raising a child who has an incredibly high pain tolerance.

For my Joshie, things that would have me (or any other kid) in absolute tears barely even register as a blip on his radar. My biggest fear—the one that literally keeps me awake staring at the ceiling—is that he will have something serious like appendicitis and just react like it’s a mild tummy ache, giving me no dramatic warning signs until it’s an absolute emergency. I try so hard to remind myself that he does still feel pain, and I have to trust his little body to sound the alarm if something is truly severe. But trusting the process is hard when your child is practically a superhero.

Just take this afternoon, for example. Josh got off the school bus and immediately showed me a loose tooth. It wasn't terribly loose—just a tiny bit wiggly, the kind that usually means you have a solid few weeks of wiggling ahead of you. But the second Josh felt that wobble, a switch flipped. He was laser-focused. In true Joshie fashion, he had a job to do, and that job was getting that tooth out immediately.

I was full-body cringing just watching him. I gently tried to negotiate, telling him the tooth wasn't quite ready and it would make me so happy if we just left it right where it was for a while. He did not care. He was on a mission. Before I knew it, he had completely evicted the tooth himself! Thankfully, it must have been readier than it looked because it barely bled, and true to form, it didn't seem to bother him at all. This is the fourth tooth in two months he has taken matters into his own hands with, but this one was by far the most stubborn!

Sometimes I just have to laugh, shake my head, and marvel at how incredibly tough he is. But I know I can't be the only one cringing on the sidelines while our kids casually brush off things that would send us to bed with an ice pack.

What is something your child with a high pain threshold has done that totally surprised (or terrified) you? Let me know I'm not alone down in the comments!