Thursday, December 08, 2005

She's Gonna Have A Smile Like Marie Osmond

After months of preparing, a string of orthodontist’s and dentist’s appointments, three pulled teeth and one trip to the oral surgeon, Demigoddess the Elder is finally getting her braces put on today.

She has needed them for a long time. During our recent financial struggles, one of the things that pained me the most was knowing that she needed braces, but I couldn’t afford to get them for her, and didn’t know when I would be able to.

Demi the Elder has never been a child who asks for much. When pressed, she insists that she’s fine, she’s okay, she doesn’t need anything. Unlike her sister, who seems to have a never-ending list of desires that she is more than willing to share with anyone who’ll listen, I practically have to throttle Ms. Elder to get her to cough up birthday or Christmas suggestions. Any time I buy her something, she asks me again and again, “Are you SURE this isn’t too expensive?”

I began to suspect a while ago that she’d become self-conscious about her teeth, especially since her entry into junior high, but she never said a word to me about braces until a few weeks ago. When I told her that I’d finally made the appointment to have them put on, she was visibly pleased, and confessed that she couldn’t believe it was really going to happen. She had genuinely believed she’d never get them. Talk about a kick in the gut.

So today is the day. I don’t know what to expect because I never had braces, and none of my sisters ever did either. Demi the Elder’s friends have filled her in on all the pains and indignities, and she’s a little bit worried that her new orthodontia will interfere with her upcoming performance in the school musical. But overall, she is very excited to visit the orthodontist today. And I must say, I’m looking forward to it, too.

5 comments:

Prego said...
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Prego said...

Hell, I'm close to forty and I'm thinking about getting them. I'm not vain, but I teach in a middle school and will be looking for a job as a principal in about a year or two. Those little bastards can be downright vicious.
I'll probably go with those molded invisible mouthpieces.

Anyway, hindsight is 20/20 but you can usually save some dough by calling a local university with a dental program. I don't know what your other kid's chompers are like, but it's worth looking into.

Meghan said...

YAY for DEMI THE ELDER!!!

Can't wait to see the sparkling smile!

Anonymous said...

She will be brighter and lovlier than Marie Osmond, her beautiful insides will shine through those pearly whites!

Emily said...

One of the things my mom always did with me to make it nicer was to go for ice cream right after every visit to the orthodontist, so that while the pain from the tightening limits what you can eat there are still some fun memories and experiences. Sort of lessens the blow.