One Hot Mama

Another way I’ve been avoiding packing for this move (see yesterday’s post) has been making appointments. We aren’t leaving the country, we won’t be relocated to an African village far away from any health services, but in our last few weeks I’ve packed my schedule with various checkups as though I won’t have the opportunity to attend to any basic needs once we leave the Little Apple.


Today was my dentist appointment.

As a girl, I LOVED going to the dentist! If insurance had covered more than 2 visits a year, I’d have been there every weekend. There was nothing better than the feeling of freshly cleaned teeth. I even enjoyed most of my experience with braces. I was a pretty dorky kid, especially when I wore that stupid “I Love My Dentist” shirt to my appointments… sheesh… As an adult (who no longer owns said shirt), the prospect of clean teeth is nice, but the hassle (and scraping and the like) hasn’t seemed worth it. I’m ashamed to admit, but I’ve only been 3 or 4 times since college.

Thankfully, all that time without a professional cleaning didn’t do much damage and I’ve maintained my perfect record of never having a cavity. Too bad that’s where the good news stopped today. This afternoon I go back to be fitted for…

Dun-dun-dun...!

A retainer.

I thought I did my time! Wasn’t 5 years of orthodontic care enough? Looks like if I want to keep my pearly whites nice and straight (minus the one rebel that shifted, the real reason I went in today) this is what must be done… At least it’s the clear kind, and not the wire one I had so many years ago, and I’ll only be wearing it in the evenings. It could be worse.

I thought being a mom-to-be would make me more grown up, but the pimply face this pregnancy has brought on (something I never actually struggled with as an adolescent) paired with my (non)metal-mouth makes me feel otherwise! Next week I go for an eye exam, maybe I’ll be sent home with big ol’ thick glasses to complete the look!