Monday, November 23, 2009

Gratitude - day catorce

Grateful that I'm done with the dentist for today, for Baxter getting his Thanksgiving "do" and slipper feet trimmed for the winter,computers, vacation time AT HOME, Youth Corrections tonight (sharing time with Daniel), experiencing the beautiful blue sky and sunshine from inside a warm house, warm house slippers.

I was thinking about the dentist and the difference between now and when I was younger. I had a mean dentist, I mean he was cruel. I hated the shots, so I usually refused to let him give me one (stupidity running rampant on my part). Needless to say the drilling was a killer and I would cry - sometimes I'd cry a lot. I remember one visit when I was crying and I wouldn't stop, he actually put his hand over my mouth to get me to shut-up. In retrospect, I should have taken a chunk out of his chunky hand. Anyway he was MEAN!!! Of course I was a little angel!?!????

His office would call every six months, almost on the dot. My mom worked so they had to call her on Saturday at home. I wouldn't dare say I was "inspired", more likely I had a premonition that a certain Saturday phone call was from the dentist from hell, so I'd go downstairs and ever so quietly pick up the phone and listen to my mom make my appointment.

And, don't ever think for one minute that I forgot when the appointment was scheduled. When the dreaded day arrived, I would either have the flu or a cold, and mom would have to cancel the appointment. All I was really doing was putting off the inevitable. I always had to go at a later date, which only extended my nightmares.



My sweet mom was always so concerned about my health, and so very trusting of her "innocent" daughter, that she never connected the dots. She always believed my "illnesses". It wasn't until years, I mean YEARS later, that I finally confessed. She was actually surprised. She has told me since then that she feels bad she didn't change dentists because I was so afraid of ours. I went about 17 years in between visits years ago. I now have a great dentist, he does a great job and I like him as a person, but he is, after all, still a DENTIST.

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