I can't help but think, as my daughter quietly sobs at the absolute devastation that her braces will not be off until Christmas, instead of fall, that it is so great to feel normal.
And I can't help but feel good that because she was adopted by us, this is the worst thing that will likely happen to her in months. No longer do her "worsts" include any kind of abuse or neglect, or wondering if she will have food to eat, or parents who will love her, or if she'll be moving to another foster home. Nope, here she is, healthy attached, loved, secure. And she feels like her life is over because her braces won't be off until Christmas.
It's so amazing how wonderful it is that we are suffering such a normal part of adolescence.
4 comments:
My daughter would be TOTALLY jealous of your daughter's braces!
We have just begun a very long braces journey that will take at least four years. Hanna has no clue as to how long that is so she asks to get them off every day. I am amazed at whet can be done to make these girls look so beautiful.
Tell her to hang tough! I did braces as an adult and was promised 30 months it was 38. But it's SO WORTH IT!!!
Hubby wasn't too keen on putting our first girls in braces, but you should see their gorgeous smiles now. Six out of eight kids have needed some sort of roof of the mouth stretching, tooth cranking or yanking into place from the odd place from whence it grew (roof of the mouth/side of the gum), and just general, overall straitghtening. We could have adopted another child (internationally) for the total cost of smiles around here. But growing up knowing how awful you can feel with a mouth full of overbite, it was something I was committed to doing for those who needed it. Our new coed also chipped her two front teeth... twice. Once going up the stairs as a 3yr old, and again in 7th grade, falling down the stairs and busting them on the radiator. OOOOUUUUCH! I can still hear the sound of teeth on metal and the scream. She can still point out the chipped paint where her teeth hit. Maybe I should update around here? On the other side of the door jam, my sister-in-law can point out the chipped wood where she bashed open her forehead.
Adoption. You would have thought we could adopt kids who didn't have my teeth and hubby's eyesight. Nope. But hey, we did get a couple of sprinters and a family fashion consultant out of the deal! Sometimes you just gotta' go outside your own gene pool for the traits that will complete a family. The sprinters are for fun, and the consultant is for our own fashion protection.
And, I'm finally absorbing your book at appointments and in the car waiting for kids. Just now noticed your personal note in the front, Claudia. Thanks! Really appreciate having it personalized, which makes it even more of a collectors item. (OK. Now everyone will want a personal note. You're welcome.) Excellent resource and great format for anwering prospective foster/adoptive parents' questions. I'll finish it and get on the assignment you've given me to promote it.
Nancy in Iowa
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