Where I Put it All in Perspective Beneath 6 Feet of Snow

So we are trudging along here with all of the snow we are buried in. It doesn't seem to end. Day after day after day of kids home is welcome at first but then after the fighting has reached it peak I begin to shovel out the town myself to get them back to school. The other day in the mist of all this Patrick had a dentist appointment AND an orthodontist appt. Orthodontist appointment came first. He got his braces off in November, then in December amid Christmas prep, stomach bug and virus induced comas that made the rounds, not once, but twice we missed his final appointment where he was to get his permanent retainer. Then we missed it again in January...not real excuse here. The week before we were supposed to go I noticed his front teeth had a space between them. I asked if he had been wearing his retainer at which point he informed me he hadn't for about a month because it hurt and didn't fit well. I thought nothing of it until after his appointment when I spoke to the hygenist and was told we had three options...a $250.00 retainer, a $300.00 retainer (not really sure what the difference was between these two or what they did but his teeth would not go back together) or to put braces back on to close the space. I went nuts on him. On our way to the next appointment that was immediately after I yelled at him in the car for being so irresponsible at 14 years old. I was angry with myself for not noticing sooner. I was sick over the amount of money we probably have to spend to fix said front teeth after spending approximately $6,000.00 already. Then I turned down Mt. Hope street in my little town. As I did I came up to a bus in front of us on the opposite side of the street that was stopped letting a little boy off. His mom was waiting at the end of the drivweway, put her arm around him, threw his backpack over her left shoulder and walked into the house. And perspective gave me a new sense of reality, as it so often can. For the little boy should not have been getting off the bus alone. And his mother should not have his backpack to throw over her shoulder and she should not have had only him to put her arm around. A year and a half ago his younger sister died of DIPG when she was only 6 years old. In fact, just turned 6 a week or two before. She had missed more than half of kindergarten after her diagnosis and died a month before first grade started. I had to realize how lucky I am to have this dilemma of whether we do a retainer or braces. That my twins, who are the little girls age, not only enjoyed kindergarten and first grade but now are half way through second. That I have 5 healthy kids. That I have five to hug after they get off the bus and actually have to stretch a little when my three little ones get off the bus to get them all in for a hug.