Going to the dentist and "So Big!!"

After working so hard to convince Kate a couple of weeks ago that going to the dentist is fun because you get to sit in a chair that goes up and down and it makes your teeth all fresh and shiny, I had to be brave. Last night I went to the dentist to get cavities filled. I had to say good bye to the kids explaining cheerfully that mommy has to go to the dentist while inside I was DREADING it. I left a great smelling dinner of slow cooked beef roast, potatoes, carrots, onions, gravy, and my new favorite rolls uneaten, but ready for my family to enjoy. I dashed out the door the minute Pete pulled in, already running a few minutes late, then arrived feeling nervous that they were going to tell me I'd have to reschedule because I was too late and then I'd have to anticipate all those yucky sights and smells again! They ushered me into "the chair" and I had flashbacks of the root canal I had a year ago. I laid back with my bib on and felt my body become tense. The smell of burning flesh that comes when they DRILL just about sent me over the edge. Then I laid there with my eyes closed because if I watch them handle all of those tools in and around my mouth, I have this fear that they are going to drop them straight down my throat and I will choke to death on a dental explorer. Thankfully me dentist is very quick and I was out of there in 30 minutes. So back home I went and was greeted by the beautiful picture of my husband and children gathered around the table. While I waited for the numbness to wear off, I read to the kids, enjoyed Ella doing "SO BIG!" for the first time, and got them ready for bed. Then I had my dinner, chewing very slowly so as to not chew on my own still numb cheeks.

Here's a poem for all of you who dislike going to the dentist

The Crocodile's Toothache
by Shel Silverstein

The Crocodile
Went to the dentist
And sat down in the chair,
And the dentist said, "Now tell me, sir,
Why does it hurt and where?"
And the crocodile said, "I'll tell you the truth,
I have a terrible ache in my tooth,"
And he opened his jaws so wide, so wide,
That the dentist, he climbed right inside,
And the dentist laughed, "Oh isn't this fun?"
As he pulled the teeth out, one by one.
And the Crocodile cried, "You're hurting me so!
Please put down your pliers and let me go."
But the dentist just laughed with a Ho Ho Ho,
And he said, "I still have twelve to go-
Oops, that's the wrong one, I confess,
But what's one crocodile's tooth more or less?"
Then suddenly, the jaws went SNAP,
And the dentist was gone, right off the map,
And where he went one could only guess...
To North or South or East or West...
He left no forwarding address.
But what's one dentist, more or less?