I May Be Getting Through

There are many days when I am certain that my attempts at parenting, raising a proper child, teaching right from wrong, exemplifying good behavior go totally unheeded by my two dear children. Actually, that’s not quite right because there are some days I feel like they do heed my pleas and then deliberately proceed to act in an exactly contrary manner. (I am aware that this is a complaint that could be echoed by every parent ever.)But that’s not why I am writing today. It’s actually the opposite of all that.The other day we were at an orthodontist appointment for Lola and they had to take pictures of her teeth and head. (More about the actual medical purpose of our appointment below.) For one of the pictures they wanted her to make a goofy face, do something silly. They are a really nice group of people and so they try hard to make it a fun environment for the little ones. But Lola wasn’t having any of it. I’m sure some of it has to do with her being so shy and not easily submitting to the wishes of a stranger. But it also occurred to me that that is exactly how I would have responded. “Enough of your foolish nonsense,” I say. “Take the damned picture!” “You needn’t amuse me.” She was all business. In fact, her demeanor bordered on a police booking mug shot. Seriously, just look at that facial front shot. It gave me a little hope that when she’s out there in the world, she might reflect some of the important lessons I taught her. Not that not having fun is an “important lesson,” per se, but I am extrapolating that if she’s picked that up, perhaps other ideas like respect and empathy are sinking in, too.In terms of the purpose of our visit, in case you’re curious, Lola has a rather tiny skull and adult-sized teeth are on the way. You may be able to see from the X-ray above, she’s got at least four big teeth coming and room for none of them. So we’re going to have to extract a few baby teeth and have expanders “installed” that will slowly, over six months or so, expand her upper and lower jaws outward. The best hope is that it creates the necessary space for them to grow in straight. Otherwise, “Phase II” will be braces! At the moment, Lola is very excited about all of this. She wanted the expanders that day. Hopefully she continues to feel the same come July.