Shred the Red

Yesterday I wrote the last check for Shayla's braces - at least for "phase 1" as Dr. Levy terms our current status in the orthodontic journey. I felt a load lifted as I handed over the $100 check. Shayla had a spring in her step after learning that the metal brackets that have set up residence in her mouth will be evicted in four weeks. Of course, there will be a new appliance at that point - and I'm not referring to the gas cooking stove that I long for. But isn't that how it is with kids and their mouths? It feels like a perpetual cycle that will only end when all of them have their own dental insurance! We've got a long way to go baby...

As I made a quick stop in the "clutter corner" (as I'll refer to the office portion of our basement) this morning on the way to my workout, I sized up the bulletin board above our desk. I noted that there was a payment schedule from Dr. Levy as well as some left over payment envelopes that I had created to keep organized as I payed for Shay's braces. Hanging next to this now obsolete document were various business cards, papers, and receipts. Most of the material once deemed important enough to post on the cork board was superannuated. In a flash, most of the meaningless matter was sorted into trash and "to shred" piles. To keep any marital upheaval at bay, I left a small pile for Dajuan to cull - and told him he had 24 hours to make it go away!

In an act that was mostly ceremonial, Shayla shredded all of the documents from Dr. Levy. She will also partake in ceremonial gum chewing in 4 weeks after over 1 year of abstaining in the childhood pleasure.

While I am thrilled to be looking at a blank bulletin board after today's downsize, more importantly I am hopeful that I have begun a new behavior pattern. In my pre-downsizing life I would have left the braces paperwork in its' place indefinitely. But now, as chapters close in our life I will be getting rid of the related documents and hope to feel freer for it!