Plym #1 Braces? Check. 1 down, 3 to go.

I’ll be honest. I was completely surprised by my first reaction when my oldest walked out from the ortho office after getting her braces removed. I started crying. Not because she looked bad, her teeth looked A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. They were absolutely perfect, just as we planned and envisioned. No, I was crying because I felt like I dropped off my child at 12:30pm. But when I picked her up, out walked a young woman. It hit me hard and the tears started flowing.

I could tell that she knew something was up by the look on my face. Of course I was gushing over her. I mean who wouldn’t? Her new smile is now a look-who-walked-into-the-room-show-stopper.

So when my hubby saw her for the first time, he immediately texted Doc Coleman (who happens to be our bud:-)) and asked him to put the braces back on. That’s right. We were not ready to give up our baby and she just looked too grown up for our comfort zone. Unfortunately (and fortunately!), the braces are still off and we now have to adjust to the new semi-adult living under our roof.

It seems like just yesterday when she was B-E-G-G-I-N-G to get braces because she was the last one on the planet to get them. Kids are no dummies. Each and every middle-schooler knows that the sooner you get your braces on, the sooner you get them off. And no kid wants to have braces in high school. But every Plym kid will. Yup, we are late teeth losers – it’s in our genes. So in September, we got the nod from Doc Coleman that her braces would come off just before Christmas. And she was giddy, to put it mildly.

Seriously, that child was counting down the hours…no wait…the SECONDS until the braces came off. She had the days crossed off on her old school wall calendar for three months and referred to the big day as her “reinvention”. She was ready and waiting for her tween transformation. And let me tell ya, that happened in just one hour at the orthodontist’s office!

Our experience with our friends at Drs. Hull & Coleman was seamless, strategic, perfectly executed and a blast to be a part of. Their office staff is so bright and cheery, they know everybody by name. The contests are super fun, although, I’m bummed we didn’t win anything. Pretty sure that’s due to my lazy child who never entered – totally her MO. Must do better with Plyms #2/#3/#4. Because they can win some SERIOUS loot just by entering – think iPads, GoPros (my twins need this in their lives), Beats Pills, passes to Carowinds, etc. The prize options are spot-on for anything and everything that a tween crushes on! And they literally roll out the red carpet when you come in for your braces to come off. They have balloons, sing songs, take goofy pics, give you POPCORN and HARD CANDY – something they haven’t had in two years! I know in her mind, this was one of her favorite days ever. And this was for sure her most favorite Christmas gift she ever received!

So I just want to say a special thanks to Dr. Coleman – who in a sense was a big part of my baby girl growing up. My daughter looks into the mirror everyday and adores what she sees. Actually, she probably looks in the mirror now too much, takes way too many snapchat selfies and can’t stop SMILING. And that is a gift that I will forever be grateful for – her confidence. That’s worth a million $s in my opinion.

Now we’re gearing up for Plym #2 to get her braces on so we can start this rodeo all over again. We’re looking forward to it, the look on their faces when the braces come off is priceless. And we can’t wait to share another piece of our family’s story with Doc Coleman. We couldn’t be in better hands:-)