Milestones

Milestones

...the ones we don't want...
...the ones that surprise us...
...and the ones we get to celebrate!

One recent milestone none of us want is Braces!!!  Apparently in the olden days (otherwise known as my childhood) the dental professionals waited until all your adult teeth were in to put on braces.  Of course, back then, they came with torture devices, otherwise known as headgear and rubber mouth pieces among other joys!!  Yuck!  Don't get me started!!
Well today's dental professionals are now of the mind that earlier is better.  Preparing for space issues and where teeth will **eventually** end up, is apparently better than dealing with the adult teeth AFTER they are in place.  Who knew??
Jocelyn's top 6 front teeth have decided to compete for space and timing (which is why she had two baby teeth removed in October) and we have already had the "braces" conversation with her dentist and 2 orthodontists.  The first orthodontist was ready to go!  Let's put in expanders and braces in the top front teeth, then this.. then that.. then the other will happen.  WooHoo!!  Let's go!!

WWHHHHHOOOOAAAA!!!  Slow down!!!  So...we got a second opinion. 

The 2nd ortho is happy to wait and see for a while longer.  His opinion is, generally Mother Nature knows what she's doing.  Jocelyn may need the next two teeth pulled to make sure everything falls into place correctly.  And there's no guarantee that the expanders / braces path, won't ultimately be necessary, but let's take a breather for another few months.  We like his method better!  Stay tuned!

The other milestone I don't want it the girl issues that come with growing up - arguments with friends, bullying, and social pressures that all kids go through, but that I so want to protect her from.  And then there's the "joys" of growing up - periods, bras, finding appropriate clothing in a world that wants to sexualize our young girls.  Ugh.

And then there are those milestones that surprised me (and maybe one I'm not ready for!)...

At Jocelyn's physical appointment with her pediatrician we found out that at 10 years old, Jocelyn has FINALLY reached the 33rd percentile for height!!  :)  In 10 years, she's never made it out of the 20's.  Maybe she's going to copy me and head for the 5th grade growth spurt!!

That milestone I'm not ready for?  This coming weekend, Jocelyn's Girl Scout troop is doing the Mall "Sleep" In.  "Sleep" is in quotes because that's a complete misnomer.  There will not be any sleeping Saturday night!!  The girls go from activity to activity all night long.  There will be 1000+ girls and 350+ adults taking over the mall.  And the part that's hardest for me?  I will not be following her around all night.  She will have a buddy, and I can tell her where to find me for most of the night, but I won't have any way to reach her and she and her buddy will be roaming the HUGE mall without me...  ALL NIGHT!!  I can't remember a time when I didn't know EXACTLY where she was at any moment.  Needless to say, I'm a little freaked out! 
We already took her on a tour of the mall, and her buddy is much more familiar with the mall, so I think she's going to handle it much better than me, but that's why I say it's the milestone I'M not ready for!!


And of course I get to celebrate the happy milestones!
Like the 10th year of my baby's life!

I get to celebrate her fabulous report card of all A's and B's.

I celebrate the opportunities she gets to show the world how amazing she is.  For example, recently she was chosen to have her picture with her reading teacher on the front and back pages of a training guide for teachers!  Every teacher in our county got to see her shining face!  She was so excited!!

Jocelyn and Mrs. Lee

And of course, every day, I celebrate the amazing kid she is!! 

No matter what I do, there will be milestones to come.  I can't avoid them, I may not like them, but they will come.  I just have to remember that being Jocelyn's Mom every day, is the best part!