As the last, really last, I swear last, 8 kids are getting older I can almost see a glimmer of light at the end of the on duty mom tunnel. Margie, the oldest is turning ......... exactly 30 years older than the youngest, Samuel who will be 8 this week.
And I'll be ready to be done when I'm done. I secretly wear a necklace with a little empty nest dangling from it and I've saved a stack of magazines with the promise of recipes for two. Two!
So why was I so sentimental when Samuel lost both front teeth this week? Maybe because he's the last and I'm a sucker for the look.
Grace has had so many medical problems and handi-caps over the years that she takes them all in stride. Nothing physical much bothers her. The chemo that splashed through her veins as a baby did lots of secondary damage, including affecting the growth of her teeth. She has eight missing and four or five that look like stalactites. She's had lots of dental work (why does it have to be so expensive?) and braces over the last few years and we've all gotten used to her "jack-o-lantern" smile. Recently we switched orthodontists and on the first visit he explained that any permanent teeth implants would have to wait till she was an adult because of continued mouth growth. He did say however that there was no reason they couldn't hook two little teeth on her retainer for now so she would look better. Let me tell you, that girl was excited! She told everyone she met that she was "getting teeth." Her older brothers do their best to humiliate her over her false teeth but even that does not dampen her joy. Here are her before and after pictures. A little up close but beautiful.
