Tough times ahead! Again.

God, grant me serenity,

to accept the things I cannot change.

The courage, to change the things I can.

And the wisdom to know the difference.

ॐ भूर्भुव स्वः तत्सः वितुर्वरेण्यम
भर्गो देवस्य धी महि धियो यो नः प्रचोदायत

These two prayers have helped me get through many tough times and I am counting on them this time around too. The toughest thing for a parent to do is watch their child suffer even a little bit. I remember one Vicks Vaporub ad that said - "आपको वही खांसी सबसे ज्यादा सताती है, जो आपके मुन्ने को आती है"। (You are bothered by that cough the most that bothers your son) How true!! If I could meet the person who came up with that line, I'd kiss their hands. And feet. This is the most insightful comment I have EVER heard about parenting.

S' dentist had asked us to take her to an orthodontist because she has some majorly crooked teeth and he wanted us to get started with "preventive maintenance" rather than have to go for something drastic (like surgery) when she grows up. So, we went. In nutshell what the orthodontist told us was this - her upper jaw is weak and not growing as well as her lower jaw has. As a result the lower jaw is slowly thrusting its way out while the upper jaw is going back. Her bite is not as it should be - upper teeth overlapping lower teeth. They meet and if this continues, the lower teeth could overlap the upper ones. This is genetic - something decided by the genes she has. And that's when, for a moment, I thought maybe my and J's match wasn't exactly made in heaven. (I am sorry J - I know you understand. I just meant that something that gives our daughter such a problem to deal with couldn't have been made "in heaven". I am VERY happy with you - for the record, and I wouldn't have married anyone else if I couldn't have married you. You know that, don't you?)

Thankfully, there is a simple fix for this. They will install an "expander" in her upper jaw which will push it outward and give the teeth some more space so they can come in easily. Then she will be given a face mask that will be attached to her teeth in the back, and will help pull her upper jaw outward. All this is going to be very uncomfortable but not painful (according to the orthodontist) And this will hopefully prevent her from needing surgery to fix this later on in her life. It depends on how well her upper jaw grows after this and if her lower jaw doesn't grow faster than the upper one.

Simple. In theory. Take into account that it is a 9 year old who will be going through all this, add to it the extreme discomfort she will have to bear and the pain too, and the fact that this treatment will last ten long months (after which, if both the jaws behave as they should, she will get simple braces) and you'll know why I need the support of prayers. I am on the verge of crying for her, at her discomfort and how my little trooper is going through all this. Yes, she is a little grumpy and yes we have given her the liberty to be so. She had "spacers" put in her teeth so that they will get some space for the metal expander to be put in this Saturday. That is making her extremely uncomfortable. She refused painkillers initially but then came back and asked for them. Which makes her drowsy which, in turn, makes going to school and swim practice and everything else that she has to do so much more difficult. Every sleep-deprived parent will vouch for that.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" has always been my mantra. I have mentioned it before too. My main grievance with God is - why her AGAIN?????