RUNNING LATE

Those of you who know me would agree I have a RUNNING LATE problem. Just reading this title you may snicker, groan, or even bristle a little (Mom, is that you bristling?).

I am working on it.

I know, you've heard that before...
...many times
...ever since you've known me
...my whole life.

The addition of a new little one has exacerbated this problem of mine. Still, I am working on it.

Getting on with the story:

Monday I am RUNNING LATE to get Simon to the orthodontist. We are going because Simon has lost his retainer (AGAIN!!!) and we need to re-evaluate his progress and possibly purchase another new $900.00 mouth-piece. So, I am crabby and RUNNING LATE. As my hand reaches for the front door handle, Simon announces, "I need to go to the bathroom and will be back in a teence." ("Teence", by the way, is a word he has invented that is supposed to sound like whatever is about to happen will happen quickly when, in fact, it takes a very, very long time. Whenever I am in a hurry and hear "teence" come out of his mouth I cringe.) He heads to the bathroom where he remains for a very, very long time. During his bathroom-break, I recall the road construction on the street where our orthodontist is located; our re-route is going to take about five minutes longer. My heartbeat accelerates and I take deep breaths while asking the man above for patience. Simon emerges from the bathroom with an enthusiastic grin on his face, apparently he thinks this "teence" was of the short variety. He is wrong.

Walking out the front door I inquire, "You brushed your teeth while you were in there, right? We are going to get your teeth looked at, remember?" He looks guilty, pivots and says, "I'll be right back in a "quick-teence". Folks, if you thought a "teence" takes a long time, a "quick teence" is the kiss of death. Before I can respond, he is gone.

If you were an observer to this situation, you might see trails of smoke seeping from my ears.

I buckle Sylvie-Aganoti into the car, walk a few laps, work on the deep breathing some more, throw in a couple of count-to-tens. Many, many minutes go by in slow, slow, slow motion. We are beyond RUNNING LATE and have moved into the apologize-profusely-and-promise-to-do-better-next-time zone.

FINALLY, Simon bounds, triumphantly from the house.

What is on his face? Is that hot pink surrounding his lips, on his cheeks? Oh my gosh, he didn't?!? He gets closer. I demand, "Simon stick out your tongue!" He DID!!!! What on earth? HE DID!!!

Backtrack to last week. Simon goes to the pediatric dentist for a routine checkup. As we leave, the hygenist and family friend, Brenda, hands Simon some reveal tablets. She instructs that every once in a while Simon should chew a quarter of a tablet and it will reveal areas he needs to hit harder with his toothbrush. "Fun," I thought. "Wow, what a great idea," I thought. "This will really motivate him to be a good brusher," I thought.

OMG!!!!!!!

We are now so, so RUNNING LATE and my son has a hot pink face and teeth with revealed plaque. As, in a rare moment of expedience, Simon eliminates the brushing step to save time. Simon, with chagrin, admits to chewing a whole tablet rather than a quarter. We are now going to the orthodontist, where he will peer into this kid's flaming-pink, plaque-covered mouth to give us an opinion on the retainer that has been lost for the second time.

Those tablets are definately not fun, not a great idea and, apparently, he has not been a good brusher!!!

Is this really happening?

Of course it is...

This is life with four kids. This is what it is like as I get back into the swing of summer off with the kids. This is why Clark is not one bit jealous of my free-time during the summer.

I laugh (a little maniacally) because, what else is there to do? I call Clark, we commiserate and he expresses appreciation for my being home to take the kids here-and-there, what else can he do? And, I vow to work harder on not RUNNING LATE, what else can I do?

Lastly, after our visit with the orthodontist, I take a picture of the kid with a red-hot mouth. I wish you could see him prior to the appointment!

p.s. We do not need to spring for a new retainer, as Simon found his yesterday!