Posted in Life in the Crazy House

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So after all this time, I finally start the ball rolling to get my second and third oldest their braces.  Ren is 16, and Mr. Personality (Mr.P.) is 15, and I want them to be done with them before they graduate from high school.

So I take them to two places.  First Dr. L.'s, and then Dr. B.'s.  When we went to Dr. L.'s I decided I really like the guy.  He's friendly, laid back, and just seems like an all around good guy.  I'd even heard rumors that he once treated a family with eight kids, all of whom needed braces, and he did the last one free.  So I decide, I'll go with this guy, but I have to at least go see the other dude.

So, guess what?  I like the second guy too!  But he actually makes a little dig at a certain, uh, person in high office, during the consultation.  I personally feel this certain person in high office wants to make this a socialist country, so I think, Hmmm...this is my kinda guy!

But Dr. Anti-socialist costs a bit more.  Well, what did you expect?  He's obviously a money-grubbing capitalist!  So, I tell them, "Well, I think your fee is a bit higher."  He tells me he'll match the other doc's quote, and his secretary says she'll write it all up and mail it out to me the next week so I can have it all in writing and make my final decision.

So I wait and check the mail all the next week.  Nothing.  I e-mail and call.  Nothing.  Well, I start to wonder, maybe I should just go with Dr. L.  I mean, he must be a capitalist too.  He's a rich doctor!  Right?  But, no, I decided to give Dr. B. just one last chance.  I call one more time and tell myself that his office has until Monday evening to get me those papers.  Monday morning I get a call from the other doc.  When do we want to come in?  I don't answer, but wonder if I should.  I still don't have those papers.

Well, Monday the mail comes, and they are here!  OK.  Dr. B., the anti-socialist, wins!  So I give 'em a call and set up the appointments.  In the meantime I get two, yes two, letters from Dr. L.'s office.  The last letter says that if they don't hear from me, they'll assume we are not coming in.  I am relieved.  The one thing I hate is to disappoint someone, or not choose someone.  I did NOT want to actually TELL them I'd chosen someone else.  I felt guilty.  Must be all those years of being picked last in gym class. 

Not long after, it dawns on me that I scheduled them on a Monday.  I did that because Ren takes college classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  What I wasn't thinking about is the fact that First Born would not be home on a Monday to watch the other five kids.  So I call and change Ren's appointment to a Friday.  Mr. P. says he is anxious to get his braces on, and could he please keep his Monday appointment.  Well, with Ren home, that would be doable, so now they each have an appointment.

But on the Sunday before the Monday appointment, Mr. P gets sick.  I mean he's coughing.  Coughing and getting braces on don't mix, so I call their machine Sunday night and cancel.  The next day I decided to call and get him a new appointment, hopefully with Ren on the Friday so I can just take them both at once.

So I look for the folder with the number on it.  I had left it downstairs.  I decide to simply look it up online.  So I Google and call the number.  I explain that Mr. P. is sick and that I had to cancel his appointment to get his braces on.  I ask if he can come in with Ren on Friday.  She has no record of Ren's appointment, so we start from scratch.  We take about ten minutes trying to find a time they can go in when my other son is home.  It is a real pain.  I wonder to myself if I had picked the wrong orthodontist after all.  I mean, being an anti-socialist is great and all, but I need an office with convenient appointments.  Finally we figure out a way to do it, but it involves getting in and out really quick because First Born has to work.  And they tell me they don't normally DO Friday appointments.  That's weird, but oh, well.  I really wish they did, though, because that's the day First Born is home all day, and Ren doesn't have school.  And another weird thing.  They aren't getting their braces on.  They are coming in for records.  I could have sworn they were getting braces on.  Oh, well.  I hang up and sigh.  This is going to be a pain.

Wait.

Did I?

Oh, please tell me I didn't!

What number did I just call?

I called Dr. L.'s office?

I was supposed to be calling Dr. B.'s office!

Aw, man!

So, I briefly consider crawling under a rock, or at the very least putting off canceling.  But, no, I needed to just do it.  So I call back Dr. L.'s and sheepishly explain that I needed to cancel the appointments because I had called the wrong office.  So, yes, I had to admit, I didn't pick them.  And I was so glad they had stopped calling and sending letters.

So I call Dr. B.'s to make the appointment.  For getting braces.  On a Friday.  Easy peasy.  So I was right, I DID pick the right orthodontist after all.  Anti-socialist, and convenient hours.  What more can a girl ask for?

~Crazy Mom