He brought a van full of stuff from Marge's, which we've been tackling today. The one I want to talk about is a new bed for Gertie. We took the crib down this morning and set up the new bed, rearranged the room a few times, and finally settled on a placement. Gertie was excited as we made the bed up, but then we went down to eat lunch.
I've been trying to restore order to the house (which sometimes seems to create chaos first) by settling so many things John brought back into their homes. Pretty soon I noticed that Gertie was nowhere to be found. That can't be good. That just doesn't happen with her. She doesn't get into too much trouble that way because she seems to really like the company of others more than she likes exploring. But still, I was a bit concerned.
Then I found her asleep in her new bed. I had been sorting some clothes and reorganizing, and I had left a small pile on her bed of things that needed to be hung up. She found them, and dressed herself up before she fell asleep.
I am so excited that she likes that new bed so much! I am hoping that it will go okay, this transition between crib and bed. I remember Ethan just didn't understand he could leave his bed for the longest time. When he'd wake up, he'd yell out, "Mom, I'm awake." I never really clued him in because I was afraid he'd start getting up whenever he wanted to. Hopefully Gertie will be so cooperative.
In other news, Ethan had lost his retainer on Thursday night. We looked everywhere and couldn't find it. He's been incredibly faithful with that thing, and I figured it must be here somewhere. I kept trying to get him to retrace his steps, to think back to the last place he had it and he had nothing to offer:
Mom: Where did you put it when you took it off?
Ethan: (absolutely no thoughtful pause) I don't know.
Mom: Did you take it off before breakfast?
Ethan: Yes.
Mom: What did you do after breakfast?
Ethan: (absolutely no thoughtful pause) I don't know.
After a bit, Grace recalls that while she was taking her contacts out before we went to the pool, Ethan came in and made some sort of joke while flashing his retainer. So we know he had it then.
Mom: Do you remember telling Grace that joke?
Ethan: Yes.
Mom: What did you do next?
Ethan: (absolutely no thoughtful pause) I don't know.
After this goes on for a while, I really do start to get irritated. I tell him that if he is uncooperative, maybe he'll buy the next retainer with his savings.
He mopes about the house for a while, and as I'm tucking him in, he asks me if a person can create their own nightmares. I say I'm not sure, but why? Because I want to die in my sleep. I'm such a failure. Blah. Blah. Blah.
That just made me even more mad. Now he wants to end his life because of a lost retainer?!? An hour ago he didn't seem quite so distraught. I told him that he's going to have failures in life a lot bigger than a missing retainer, so he needs to prepare for that, and that God has numbered his days already and he better not mess with God's plans. I did say some nice, encouraging things too...
This happened Thursday night, and we had an orthodontist appointment already scheduled for today. When we told the orthodontist what happened, he said that he didn't think we should replace it. His mouth needs to have a little give to let his incisors grow in, so we'd better just skip it. I said I'm worried about those teeth getting real crooked again, and he said they will probably give a little, but if he'd continue to wear the retainer, then the incisors would probably come in real high and forward, so it's just a matter of balance. He's probably going to need braces again in a few years anyway, to correct all his teeth.
Then we were off to the eye doctor. Ethan's eyes are a bit weak, but he still doesn't need glasses. Grace's eyes just continue to get worse. Ugh.
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