This is the last photograph of the Little Admiral in braces:

They came off Monday — most importantly, before the start of school.

Monday evening’s menu consisted of BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, and three varieties of sticky candy for dessert — all forbidden foods for the past three years.

And this is the child I gave birth to 14 years ago, on the first day of her freshman year in high school. Two inches taller than last year, the braces are gone, and a wardrobe chosen from the best that the malls in Northern Virginia had to offer.

It’s going to be a great year!