It’s
the time of year for caramel corn and caramel-coated apples. Tasty treats, but
they remind me of a mishap I once had with the chewy confection.
Starting
when I was 9 Mom took me on regular trips to Dr. Bowlin, the orthodontist in
Keokuk, Iowa. First I had four teeth pulled, one on each corner of my mouth.
When I was 11, the four permanent teeth were pulled. Then I had to wear metal
braces until age 16 to straighten and move the remaining teeth back together.
The
drive to Keokuk took about an hour, and since they on a different time part of
the year, we would often leave home at the same time we were supposed to arrive
for my appointments. For years we made the trip once a month on Saturday.
The
night after returning from one such trip, I got some of those small cubes of
caramel. Big mistake. As I was chewing on one of them, the wire sprung loose
from my upper braces on one side and stuck into my cheek. It was Saturday
night, so I had to deal with the problem for a week until Mom could take me
back to get it fixed.
I
learned my lesson. No more caramel, chewing gum or anything else that could
threaten to spring my braces.
After
seven years of dealing with having eight teeth pulled, having the wires
painfully tightened each month, having to put tiny rubber bands on prongs to
pull my teeth together and, finally, having to wear a retainer for a year, I
was finally done. And I was so grateful to have nice straight teeth.
Mom
had always told me that by starting early, I’d appreciate being finished by the
time I cared about it. She was right. It was even worth going through the
caramel episode.
