Faith has joined the ranks of children all over the world sporting colored rubber bands on her teeth. She is elated!
Now, most children don't really relish the thought of metal wires in their mouth, reshaping their teeth, gums, jawline and, overall, their very face. Faith isn't like them. She was so excited to get past the "palate expander" phase, that she begged her orthodontist to put a rush on it! She was given the grace of six weeks, in order to bypass the holidays. Not this girl! She wanted them installed the very next day. With a tolerant smile, she was given an appointment for 1 week.
We planned. We prepped. We got her teeth sparkling clean - a chore she really dislikes. We planned a lovely lunch full of crunchy edibles. We packed a tooth brush in our backpack, and warned the teacher we would leave school early. We even whispered the big event to our closest 20 friends (the whole class, of course!) We ran off, smiling from ear to ear...to our unknown fate.
I waited the 20 minutes in the office, smiling inside at the future that awaited her. She came out grinning behind locked lips. The color choice was hers, and hers alone, to reveal. She waited...she smiled...she beamed. A small mouth of pink. She chose light pink and dark pink because "she saw them next to each other and they were so pretty she just couldn't chose anything else!" Color, you see, is everything.
We ran back to school, eager to show off our new addition. She walked up to the lunch table to shouts of "Faith, let me see! let me see!" She just couldn't hold it in another second. She beamed. I have to tell you, my mother's heart was beating a strange tattoo, wondering what her reception would be. Children are beginning to be cruel at this age. I held my breath...briefly, it turned out. There were numerous shouts of :"Faith, they look BEAUTIFUL!" by boys and girls alike. WHEW!! How wonderful to hear God bless my little girl with the joyous voices of her classmates. They really celebrated with her. I hope she understands when she's older what a true gift that was. It is forever printed on my mind, and my heart.
She and 7 of her closest friends painted fun ceramics...and talked.
We had cheese-stuffed crust Pizza, Fruit punch, and of course birthday cake. And talked.
Then, we went back to the house, opened gifts, and settled down for a lovely viewing of Ratatouille. and talked.
After a brief 6 hour nap, we awoke, talking. Truth be told, someone was talking and sleeping. But I'm not saying whom. After a rousing breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausages, and hot chocolate, we burned off steam playing balloon volleyball. and talked.
