Braces off and...hello glasses

For me, everything that happens with my children seems to move in slow motion. Things that occurred years ago seem like months.  About two months ago the orthodontist wrote in Darcy's chart that it was time to take off the braces and to make appointments accordingly. I never believe when an orthodontist says that because I was only suppose to be in braces for a year and a half and it was twenty. (Things happened twice as long when I was a kid) So when I made the appointments I made them on my time and around activities and it turned out to be longer than the time designated by the doctor. Oh well. Darcy whined and named multiple people who could drive her to get her braces off, but I vetoed all of that. I wanted to be the one to take her.

"But Mom, I've had these things on for FIVE years!" Which I didn't believe until I went back to look at the picture I took of her the day she got her braces. (The braces that she had so desperately wanted until they stuck the appliance on the roof of her mouth.) Okay, maybe it has been awhile longer than I thought.

But then time flew by like it always does and this Tuesday we headed to the braces removal appointment. I asked her what she would do if he changed his mind. She told me she would go into the bathroom and cry quietly. I asked her if she wanted me to pull a Frankie Heck from The Middle, and she said, "Please don't."

I made her take the required before photo and inside we went. Because the orthodontist had gotten smarter since Madison had her braces taken off Darcy had been measured and fitted for retainers at a previous visit. This appointment was only a little over an hour and out she came. Only she wasn't smiling. I had fallen asleep in the waiting room so I was a bit discombobulated when she woke me and I demanded to see her naked teeth. Of course, she had the retainers on and threw my fuzzy haze and questioning I discovered that the upper retainer still had the dreaded device to prevent her tongue from pushing against her teeth. Seriously? That darn thrusting tongue!

The device, however, was not as large and poky as the device that had mashed her tongue for five years so despite some whining she has done well with it. Braces off! Woot! Woot! The euphoria lasted for two days.

On Friday she had her yearly eye exam. It was an exam made at her request as the electronic board at school and sitting in the back row in theaters were a bit blurry. The doctor we use to go to had left so we ended up with another doctor who spoke minimally and was only concerned about checking her for cataracts and glaucoma. His tech did the vision test and he wrote up the prescription. "You are good to go. All you need are glasses."

We ended up with the bottom color because the top color matched her hair too perfectly. I reminded her of how she had once upon a time wanted glasses and was so disappointed that she didn't need them after an eye exam that I had to buy her fake glasses from Claire's. She just glared at me.

We pick up the glasses in a week or so.