medical milestones

I hope the first day of February went well for all of my faithful followers! It went well for me as well. I just said 'well' twice in the same sentence. An intended diacope, sort of kind of.
Anyways, today was the day that I got my braces off - forever! I had already been through it, when I was 13, and it was a complete disaster.
I cried when I got them on the first time and off. The orthodontist even said that he thought I was the first patient they would lose. I am the ultimate queen of wimpness in anything that has to do with medical procedures. Shots? You better sedate me. Injuries? I complain and moan. Colds? It's a hot mess. Surgery? We've never crossed that bridge, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.
So you can say that I am not the one who would take medical care lightly. Which is good because I don't really need much more than the basics - doctor and dentist. So anyways, I was imagining that this time was going to be a repeat of last time. I kept on thinking that it would be the same, but on the other hand I was an orthodontic veteran, and I should have seen it coming.
And luckily I did. I didn't need any sedatives or novocaine and we didn't need to fetch my mom because I was too much of a wimp to get my braces off by myself. I actually remember the first time I was sitting next to this other kid who was getting her braces off and she wasn't crying. I was balling so hard I didn't know anyone was sitting next to me - my mom told me. She was around 8 years old.
Now that you know how wimpy I am, you can understand how traumatic this whole ordeal was. I went into the office and I was almost convulsing with fear. But the hygienist said there was nothing to be afraid of. Yeah right.
And so I kept on waiting for the pain, and it never came. I kept on saying, well that wasn't so bad, but the next thing will be awful. But the awful part never came. And I never cried. It was great - my mom didn't need to come back and it was just a better day. Now that I think of it, there was nothing painful about the whole experience. It wasn't so fun that I want to do it tomorrow, but it wasn't horrible.
I know I'm sort of pathetic in this sense, but I was happy that I didn't embarrass myself in there again. I bet the last time they were like Thank God that freak has her braces off! But this time they probably said Wow, what a kid. What a fabulous kid.
And the best part is I get to go back next week and get my yellow retainer! What's more fun than a yellow retainer?
Surmounting any wall in life, whether it's recovering from cancer or getting your braces off without crying hysterically and giving all the nurses headaches, or anything in between, you should be happy that you were able to overcome it. So now I can do things I couldn't do before. Like in 2 years when I'm 18 I can donate bone marrow (I'm already the perfect candidate) and help save someone's life. I bet they'll be happy I was brave enough to do that. All because of my braces. My grilles.