Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You; Nine Weeks In

Things have been starting to open up around here, in a slow way and with many rules and restrictions in place. Last Monday (Monday? I think? All the days blur together.) I received a phone call, which, if it’s not a telemarketer or an automated voice telling me that I haven’t paid my taxes and someone is on their way to arrest me, is rare. But happiness of happiness, it was the orthodontist office calling to make an appointment for my younger son to come in on the very first day that the office opened, which happened to be Thursday. I was so happy to hear from her; in the very least, I would not have to resort to DIY orthodontia for his loose bracket.

A few weeks ago, when May 14 was given as the date that dentists, orthodontists, and other medical professionals could re-open their offices, I called the orthodontist only to get an answering service saying please don’t call us, we will call you. I resigned myself to many weeks more of Not Going To The Orthodontist, and so this phone call and ensuing appointment was pretty unexpected and exciting.

We were emailed a long list of instructions as to visiting the office, as well as a form that my son had to fill out indicating that he has no Covid symptoms, he is not being tested for coronavirus, has not been out of the country or in contact with anyone being tested, symptomatic, or out of the country, etc., etc. I went through the instructions with my son, who wondered he was part of a drug deal or maybe an undercover sting operation, rather than a simple orthodontist appointment, which, well. I get it. He was to come through the back door, alone, and masked. I was to call from the parking lot to let them know we had arrived and await their instructions as to when he could approach the door. I was to wait in the car for him, and he came back with stories of hand-and-mouth sanitizing and a hand-written note saying that the next appointment would be in 6-8 weeks and don’t call them, they’ll call me.

My big question was – and still is – when will we be Done With Orthodontia, and the answer is Who Knows. The orthodontist told my son he’s Getting Close, but he’s been saying that he’s Getting Close for many months now, so this is not indicative of anything at all. My experience with orthodontists is that they give constant false hope as to when braces will be removed. My older son’s orthodontist said “another four to six months” basically after every appointment; this new orthodontist doesn’t seem to give that kind of information. It’s just Getting Close.

Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it. The upside of distance learning and my incredibly truncated teaching schedule is that when I’m making appointments for the orthodontist, or anything else, for that matter, I don’t have to think about timing; how to schedule without missing important classes, how to squeeze in an appointment between my classes and my son’s, how to juggle everything. We are going nowhere and doing nothing, so we can take any spot available.

I had a really lovely long weekend. The weather was gorgeous, I was able to get in a lot of gardening, walks, and general outside time, and we had a (socially distanced, don’t judge) visit with my parents, who I have missed very much. The boys and I hadn’t seen them since February, and my husband hadn’t seen them since Christmas. It felt wonderful and almost normal, and it was a reminder to me that there are many joys to be found in our lives. I have been thinking about that a lot lately, but it will have to wait for another post.

Pandemic Reading

This book was beautifully written, very rich and layered, and yet I will not give it an across-the-board recommendation. It is VERY sad and also potentially very triggering. It deals with a woman in two time periods: 2000 and 2017, and this woman had what is referred to as “an affair” with her 42-year-old teacher, at age 15. There are many facets to this story, and it is all very sad and kind of terrifying too; the book is worth reading, absolutely, it feels like an important book, but I am putting a lot of caveats out here.

After I read My Dark Vanessa, I desperately needed a palate cleanser, and who better than Nora Ephron? This is my second-favourite book of hers, and it is one that you a) do not have to think much about and b) is cheerful and chatty.

Yummy Things

It was my mother’s birthday just after Mother’s Day, and so I took her a cake. This is a chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling and chocolate ganache, and it’s VERY good. It is also vegan, and I’m really glad I took a photo because the two hour car ride to my parents’ place was not kind to it. By the time we got there the little blobs of frosting on the top had melted a bit and the raspberries had fallen off. Still, it was delicious.

Pandemic Fitness

Since the weather has been great, I’ve been really enjoying my runs and walks. I mean, look at that blue sky!

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend, and have some yummy things coming your way today! xo