My second try at adolescence...

I had horrid acne as a teenager- and progressed along the many serums, creams, pills to the mother of all acne medication- Acutane. I took it for a good 6 months or so. For those lucky enough to get through adolescence with beautiful, clear skin- I HATE YOU!- and to give you a background on Acutane- its a strong oral medication that chemically changes your skin. You start to dry out- everywhere, need to wear something on your lips constantly so that the chapping stays under control, you have to stay out of the sun, and basically, you see some changes overall in the chemical makeup of your skin.
I swear a side effect from Acutane is that it changes the pigment in your skin. I no longer tan, I just turn rosy pink, which then goes away not resulting in any color change at all.

Anyway, fast forward now from 1988- to present day. I still have acne. Its not nearly as bad as when I was 15- but it has clearly been with me for several years. I have tried many different things to get rid of it, and it might go away for a bit, but then it magically rears its ugly head again around my chin.
Over time, Grace has become quite curious about the "dots" and "marks" on my face. I have told her initially that it is extremely rude to comment on someone else's skin etc. Now, she is smarter, and can read ...
I got a call today from Dermatology to schedule an appointment. Afterwards, I was typing the information into my Palm Pilot. She was looking over my shoulder to read what I was doing. She started to sound out "Derm-a-tol-ogy"..( uh-oh).
Grace: "Mom what is Dermatology?
Me: "Its a doctor that works with people's skin, looks at bumps, rashes"
Grace: "And the red dots on your face?"
Me:"YES.. that is called acne"
Grace: "Is that why you're going to the dermatology?"
Me: "Yes, I'm going to talk to the doctor about my acne"
Grace: " I'll bet you'll be glad to have that taken off. Are you going to be put to sleep to have the acne taken off your skin?" "Are you scared?"
Me: ( I think there was a slice of compassion mixed in there...) No, I won't be put to sleep, the doctor will just give me some medicine to help it go away.

Later that evening.....
I had gone out after dinner to run an errand, when I returned...

Grace: "Did you go see the Dermatology?" "What did they say about your acne?"

Great. Now I'm being critiqued by my 7 year old.....

I recently saw my doctor, and at the appointment I said " Ok, so I'm 35 years old, I have braces, acne, and I'm fat. I'm sure we can do something about atleast one of these". She laughed, she said lets start with the dermatology appointment and go from there.

The braces are supposed to come off next month. I've had them for a year, which to others is not a long time, UNLESS YOU'RE WEARING THEM. I told the Orthodontist that I'd sit in the chair and take them off myself next month if he didn't have time. He said, "You've had them a year already, I see a tooth there, that could be just a titch higher to meet the next one". What is this perfection? I swear I'll wear my retainer at night.

I'll address the third problem later....