I had just climbed into the reclining chair and was dutifully opening my mouth to allow the dentist's assistant to get a real good look inside my oral cavity. I quickly closed my mouth, realizing that there ARE things that come first in dental visit protocol. Before the mask is pulled down over the assistant's mouth and nose, as she is donning her latex gloves and pulling out her "sterile" instruments of torture, there must FIRST be a short exchange to make the patient comfortable.
It had been at least 20 years since I last I sat in this particular dentist's office. I really like the dentist, but she did not participate in the dental insurance program my employer selected and in which I had opted to participate, so, after three years of happy dental visits with "Dr. Anne," my family started seeing another dentist. Since our parting I have seen probably six different dentists, having to change as dental plans and participating providers changed. And now there I was, having discovered she now IS a participant in my plan, happily going for a checkup and cleaning. I remembered them, but I did NOT expect them to remember ME twenty years later.
"Yes, I used to see Dr. Anne a long time ago," I confessed to the assistant who had recognized me.
"Sure, I remember you," she said with a grin, "Your son was the first one to christen me by throwing up on me when I hit his gag reflex with the water!"
OMG! "What a way to be remembered," I thought, as I replied, "Oh, yeah, Stephen always had a crazy gag reflex. You were not the only to have been so christened."
So we laughed a bit about that and she told the younger dental assistant about my kids and that this was when she started keeping a bucket nearby ...just in case... whenever Stephen had an appointment!
And then we got down to the business of the visit, the cleaning and the exam. I produced the crown I'd knocked off with the water pick two nights ago, but Dr. Anne shook her head as she reviewed my x-rays and did her close-up exam with those odd little glasses over glasses they wear. "Bless your heart," she said, "the crown really cannot be replaced...the tooth has broken further and I think the best thing would be just to remove it....there's nothing for the crown to hold onto." Well, no problem, as far as I was concerned. It's a far back tooth and won't bother me at all to have it gone from my mouth....getting it gone, on the other hand, I am NOT looking forward to. Still, that's another day and another doctor...the oral surgeon....
Back at the old farmhouse, the deck has come along nicely. Day 3 (yesterday) they completed the deck floor and railings, but to get up to the deck still required a ladder.
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| Day 3 -- Deck but no stairs yet |
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| Ahhh,,, and the air is lovely up here! |
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| Day 4 Pickets and Stairs in Place |
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| Test Climb up to Deck |
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| Satisfied Customer |
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| And so much closer to the moon! |
The deck can be used as is, and I have a feeling there might just be a cookout on it this weekend. The windows have not yet been replaced with doors, so access to and from the deck will be via the deck stairs, rather than through the door off the second story apartment, but who cares?
I'm looking forward to the weekend when I don't have to spend most of the daylight hours inside working. And I am certain I will spend a lot of my time outside, in my comfy overalls, working alongside Joe creating this farm in the woods vision of ours.
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| Path in the woods |
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| So serenely beautiful |
As Niels, a new visitor to my blog commented, "have a nice overall weekend!" Take time to enjoy these last tastes of summer.
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| Last Tastes of Summer |
7 comments:
congratulations with your deck, looks really nice; my wife and I have never build anything before, but this summer she and I build a small house for firewood, tools, bikes etc. so we were more or less outside all the time and we had so much fun together in getting everything in right angle etc., again overall greetings to you and your husband, enjoy the deck dinner:)
Hello Judy! Thank-you so much for always stopping by my blog and commenting!! For some reason, I have missed seeing your posts on my dashboard, and I'm not sure why...I'll have to pay attention perhaps! :-) But I have spent sometime catching up and see that you've got a lot going on. The deck is really coming along nicely, and wish I had the "nerve" to clip my Wheaten Terrier as you did your pup--But I'm afraid too...And those work pants--I think we or someone we know like our husbands have a pair just like that! There's something so comforting in a pair of old jeans isn't there? Enjoy your weekend Judy!! Don't work too hard!! :-)
Oh, by the way, I love the story in today's post! I work in a dental office, and I've only had one patient throw up on me, and I remember him too--Funny what I can recall from so many years ago, but have no idea where my car keys are!! :-)))
Good Morning, Judy!
I will say one thing - at least the assistant didn't remember you - because you threw up!
The deck is beautiful, the view is beautiful, can you stand it! I would be beside myself! Are you going to stain or paint it? I just woke up - maybe I missed that part... What a great place to have your cuppa in the morning!
Have a great weekend!
Hi Niels...thank you. Yes, I was reading about your adventures with the "first build" and thought how nice it was. I really do think there is a lot to be said for creating things together. Of course since, neither of us is a carpenter, we opted to have the deck "professionally" built, but trust me, we have a few building projects underway that we are doing ourselves... Of course, they take longer and are not as "perfect" as the professional's versions, but they are functional and of our own creation...fun!
Kim,
Hahaha! I knew you worked in a medical office, but didn't know it was a dental office! I'm sure someone throwing up on you WOULD be memorable! But it had just never occurred to me.
Before we had engaged Dr. Anne, all those many years ago, I had made an appointment for the children to see another local dentist. I had been quite specific when I inquired about the dentist -- wanting to know if he was good with children... I wasn't able to take them to their first appointment, so my husband took them. He reported that Stephen has thrown up on the dentist, and that Jennifer needed several teeth filled. I was mortified by Stephen's throwing up on him, but as it turned out, that dentist was HORRIBLE with children and when we took Jennifer back to have the fillings, I could actually hear him YELLING at her because she (at 5 years old) wanted him to let her mommy come back in the room with them. The more he yelled at her, the harder she cried. He ended up bringing her back out, not filling the cavities and telling me I needed to take her to a "periodontist!" Well, I doubted she needed such, and that he probably had meant "pediodontist," but we left and I remember being secretly HAPPY that Stephen HAD thrown up on this guy! That, in fact, is how I ended up finding Dr. Anne. That other dentist, it turns out, lost his license less than six months later -- issues with alcohol and drug addictions.
Anyway, long story, but thanks for stopping by to visit my blog. I can tell you, Killian seems SOOOO much cooler in her trimmed state!
Hi Sharon,
Yes I am very anxious to get the doors in place so we CAN begin using the deck as intended, but that will be another week yet. We will wait several months before staining/sealing the deck, as the wood is "wet" right now and we need it to dry out before sealing it. I imagine that will be a Spring 2011 project, though timing will be critical to avoid a lot of yellow pollen become permanently part of the deck!
It will be nice to take mornings and evenings out on the deck... for now, I'm off to enjoy the daylight hours some more....the goats are ready for me to take them to their "work for food" location! LOL...they do a right decent job keeping the brush at bay!
WOW Ms. J, That deck looks awesome! I hate the going to the dentist because it seems bad news always follows an xray. My last appt found me in almost the same predicament with a tooth being pulled.
Have a nice weekend,
Mal
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