I also told the story of the first time Kate told me she was done eating meat and Kate hadn't remembered. I had cooked barbecue chicken for the kids for dinner and we were at the table and all of a sudden Kate jumped up and ran, not walked, ran to her room. I followed her and she was visibly upset sitting on her bed. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the chicken looked like a little body and it was making her feel sick. This was more than a child's fickleness, she was really shaken up. I told her she didn't need to eat the chicken but she needed to eat something so went to the kitchen to fix her a plate of everything else. I looked at the chicken on her plate, weirdly can still picture it clearly, and it did look like a little body.
So in a sense, it was my cooking that put her off meat, ha ha. Although I haven't cooked red meat in over 20 years, I switched to ground turkey and never looked back, I haven't even had that in years. We now do veggie tacos, meatballs, Chinese food, Tofurkey, and the like. Better for our health and for the environment. Kate still tries to convert everyone to cut out meat completely, Noah has switched to cheese pizza and adds his own meatless pepperoni, we haven't all switched 100% but we are constantly getting closer.
This story does have a point, ha ha. In this picture you can see Kate eating at her favorite restaurant, Sipz Fusion Cafe, orange chicken, vegan style. This was her pre-braces last hurrah. It's actually really good, but too high in sodium for this mom. A couple bites and my head is buzzing horribly.
A before and after braces picture. She is adorable with her braces. This was actually a hard day. Throughout all of Kate's many surgeries and Dr appointments she has had an amazingly positive attitude. She has not had one day of feeling sorry for herself. She's a freaking saint. Honestly. While she was getting the braces on, the assistant was saying Kate will need to eat soft foods for a few days because her teeth will be sore. I could see in Kate's eyes that she was feeling a little unhappy so I signed a little with her, as she was unable to speak, and told her donuts were soft. She gave a half enthusiastic thumbs up. We are not anywhere near fluent in ASL, but we know enough for a very simple exchange.
When she was all done and we were walking to the car I brought up a donut again and she said no, she just wanted to go home and relax. This girl never says no to a donut so I knew she wasn't feeling like herself. I made sure she had some Advil and took her home. About an hour later she text me, I'm sad. Ugh, broke my heart. She is never sad. Not about this stuff. Then she sent a picture of a donut. I was never happier providing absolute garbage for my daughter to eat. Two donuts, extra soft. She never said another word about being sad. But this will stick with me forever. I don't think it was the braces as much as I think you go and go and be tough over and over again and sometimes you're just tired. Being strong all the time takes effort and will, it's a testament to her spirit that this is the first time she had a moment of being human like the rest of us. She is most definitely not your every day human being. She's extraordinary in every sense of the word.
About a month ago I sent all my kids a text telling them how much I love them and admire the people they were becoming etc. In Kate's text I mentioned how much I admired her strength and attitude. Her response was classic, ha ha.
....Love ya too and all but are you on drugs or something? .....That was so cheesy....
In her defense, sometimes I am on drugs. Hello migraines. But I was not on drugs at this moment. We do say medicine instead of drugs in public and around other people lest they think we mean "drugs" instead of drugs. Our own inside joke which is a little irreverent, possibly a little screwed up, but serves its purpose bringing us laughter in what would otherwise be a sad situation. And it's something we have in common, we both need our pharmacutical friends to get through this life. She is, in some ways, a classic teenager. Loves her sleep, listens to music far too cool for her mother, and thinks that loving texts are utterly cheesy.
Kate is kicking booty in school as well. All the kids are doing well academically. It seems no matter how obscure of a topic or interesting fact I bring up with them, they already not only know it but can teach me more about it than I ever had the capacity to teach them. The education table has not only been reversed from parent to child, but has been flipped upside down and thrown into the stratosphere.
***Marci health note. Sleep in elusive. Daily headaches, dizzy, tired, and fibromyalgia pain is flaring up. So, basically a party over here. :) And I mean that in a non sarcastic way. It's true what they say, though definitely not easy, attitude is everything. We make our own party. Life IS pain princess (because we are all about the movie quotes in this house). But WE can choose to laugh or cry. And we always choose laughter. And drugs. (Thank you modern medicine) And donuts, can't forget those.
