Making 'em pay

For years - TOO many years - my company medical aid scheme has had me faithfully paying in of my good earned cash, and not claiming more than my annual contact lens renewal fee. I've seen the doctor 4 times in the past 10 years and the dentist once (mostly my son's appointments). I've had one episode of boob-squashing thanks to a lump scare. And that's all I've asked them to refund.

But this month they're gonna pay! (Not that they cover it all - only 75% of most bills...)

It's time to renew the contact lenses, and in addition I've just made an appointment to FINALLY get my teeth straightened.

Yeah, I'm a bit old, but this comes from way back. When I was 12 and living in Zimbabwe, us three kids were hauled off for braces. My teeth were not that bad, so I only got a removeable plate and wire to help them grow in the right direction (still don't have any fillings - and as such don't visit the dentist often, in fact couldn't remember who my dentist was and had to phone around now!). The brothers got the whole train-track works. Then we moved to South Africa, and while their teeth continued to receive attention, my needed check-up and larger plate/wire fell by the wayside and was eventually forgotten.

In the meantime, the teeth in my top jaw continued their inward journey - pushing one of the large ones at the front out as they tried to hide behind it. I've always been ashamed of my teeth, wishing they were nice and straight and not all wonky. You'll hardly ever see me smiling broadly in photos.

But now the time has come! The teeth have migrated together to the point of being occasionally painful, and are not getting any better. I don't have anyone to kiss, nor any such prospect on the horizon (a point of vanity that has kept me away from the dentist up to now - but I simply no longer care who thinks what). I can afford to get the jolly things done at last.

So tomorrow morning I head off to the dentist's chair for a consultation (also known as "let us look at you and then give us a load of cash, and make another appointment to see us later to give us more cash"). I'm about to invest at least 2 years of pain and suffering in order to smile broadly. Then on Tuesday it's off to Specsavers to replace the contact lenses.

This month that medical aid is gonna pay!