Yesterday I had my first of several visits to the dentist to deal with the 7 cavities that were found last week. Ugh!
I sat in the chair, all numbed up and felt very old and young at the same time. For some reason I always feel like a little kid when diagnosed with a cavity. Probably because I had so many when I was little... and also because I feel irresponsible, somehow, when a cavity is found. I kept telling the dentist and his staff that I do brush! And floss! Hopefully they believed me... But I only got three of the seven filled yesterday... so I'll be back in to make my case to them again soon.
So while I felt a little like an 8-year-old sitting in the dentist's chair, I also realized how old I am. I found myself looking around the ceiling and upper walls for Curious George riding a bike. That was one of the many toys my childhood dentist had decorating his office. I spent too much time looking up at those toys!
But of course my dentist now just has boring beige walls. No posters or pictures or stuffed animals to entertain while he drills away. Sigh.
Plus, he's practically the same age as me! Granted, my dentist when I was a kid was nearing retirement... so he was legitimately "old." But my new guy just graduated dental school in 1999 — when I finished high school! I felt like asking him to go get a beer with me and Brian sometime, but then worried he would tell me there's too much sugar in beer and not to drink it :)
The other part of "feeling old" on this dental trip hit when I had to pay. Ugh. I never realized how expensive my teeth issues must have been for my parents. I hope my dental bills stay in check in the future, so we can start paying for Ellie's visits at some point.
It's still weird sometimes when these "parent/adult" moments clobber me over the head. I wonder how old Ellie will be when I stop being surprised at times by this stuff?
I sat in the chair, all numbed up and felt very old and young at the same time. For some reason I always feel like a little kid when diagnosed with a cavity. Probably because I had so many when I was little... and also because I feel irresponsible, somehow, when a cavity is found. I kept telling the dentist and his staff that I do brush! And floss! Hopefully they believed me... But I only got three of the seven filled yesterday... so I'll be back in to make my case to them again soon.
So while I felt a little like an 8-year-old sitting in the dentist's chair, I also realized how old I am. I found myself looking around the ceiling and upper walls for Curious George riding a bike. That was one of the many toys my childhood dentist had decorating his office. I spent too much time looking up at those toys!
But of course my dentist now just has boring beige walls. No posters or pictures or stuffed animals to entertain while he drills away. Sigh.
Plus, he's practically the same age as me! Granted, my dentist when I was a kid was nearing retirement... so he was legitimately "old." But my new guy just graduated dental school in 1999 — when I finished high school! I felt like asking him to go get a beer with me and Brian sometime, but then worried he would tell me there's too much sugar in beer and not to drink it :)
The other part of "feeling old" on this dental trip hit when I had to pay. Ugh. I never realized how expensive my teeth issues must have been for my parents. I hope my dental bills stay in check in the future, so we can start paying for Ellie's visits at some point.
It's still weird sometimes when these "parent/adult" moments clobber me over the head. I wonder how old Ellie will be when I stop being surprised at times by this stuff?
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