Nola now has 5-1/2 teeth. Every single one was a hard fought victory for the both of us. My back is excited for that 1/2 tooth to drive our tally up to a nice, even 6 (Nola demands an inordinate amount of arm time when cutting teeth).

On Saturday, I celebrated my own toothy victory. After 25 months of pain and juvenalia, my braces came a tumbling off.

If you take a closer look, you will see that the teeth that used to tilt north, south, east, west and every direction in between are now standing at attention. And honestly, there are so many of them. I mean, I know I have as many as I’m supposed to have, but seeing them all in a row for the first time makes me feel like I have about 4 more than the norm.

I mean, that’s a lot of teeth!

The first thing I ate was an apple followed by a carrot that had not been cut up into flimsy sticks. I followed that up with a small handful of Dots. What I love most, however, is all of the extra space my lips have. It’s like moving from a condo to a manor house inside my mouth.

Nola laughed when she saw them for the first time. She always had been fascinated with my braces, scratching at them and pulling at the rubber bands. So when I smiled at her, she looked up at me and just cracked up. She laughed all day Saturday every time I offered up my pearly whites for further study.

Once they get whitened (coffee, tea and braces don’t mix all that well unless you like having white squares in the center of your teeth), I will feel confident about my smile for the first time ever. So don’t be surprised if I look extra happy from here on out. I mean, I gave up $5000 dollars and two years of my life for this and I plan on flaunting it at every turn.

Filed under: Daddy Things, Nola Eleanor, Reinvention