Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A tale of two teeth

Cady Gray lost her first tooth last Saturday.  No child has ever been more excited about losing a tooth.  She has been wiggling -- and reporting on the wiggling conditions of -- the tooth, a lower bicuspid I believe, for weeks.  It finally fell out during breakfast on the first day of Christmas break, meaning that Cady Gray will have to wait until early January before she can report the loss to her teacher and get on the Tooth Chart in her classroom, something that is apparently very important to her.

Meanwhile, Archer is getting the last of his adult teeth, and as they come in he gets more wires and springs put into his orthodonture.  I never had to have braces as a kid, and neither did my brothers.  So this whole process is new to me.   He's been a trouper through the whole thing -- at least, that's what I hear from Noel, who accompanies Archer to all appointments.  Thank goodness Noel has fallen on that sword for me.  I don't know if I could take it.

When Cady Gray lost that tooth, I confess that one of my first thoughts was, "Please let the new ones come in straight."  Stuff like this -- stuff I can't do anything about, that I can't prevent by feeding them right or getting them to do their homework -- is the stuff I hate most about being a parent.  I just want to spare them trouble or pain.  But parenthood means being grateful for everything that goes their way by chance, and stoic about everything they just have to get through.  A single loose tooth can fall either way.  For now, Cady Gray enjoys it as a sign of growing up, and I hope the others take their time.

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