I’m late in posting but not much funny has happened. Masks are coming off and people are still driving selfishly. Neither of those things are funny. More people are getting vaccinated and people are still throwing junk in our yard. Not amusing, either. Our son had an accident and fractured his ankle, requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery period. Really not anything there to make me smile.
So, I’ve been struggling to post a late spring, early summer, funny blog entry. It’s rainy, hot, humid and people are complaining about the weather (remember when it was February and people wanted it to not be cold?). I’ve been dashing back and forth, trying to keep our son’s house tidy, food in his fridge and worrying about him/praying for him (counter intuitive activities, I realize).
Then, I had a Godwink day. Several things happened that made me realize the world is still rotating and my personal little world is going to be okay.
I’ve had an appointment with an oral surgeon for several months, waiting to hear his recommendation on a tooth that needs extraction. I’m a nut about the dentist anyway – even a simple cleaning raises my blood pressure many points and causes panic attacks. So the thought of an extraction had me on the edge of my seat. The dentist! Surgery! The pain! Complications! (Okay, there probably won’t be any, but it’s a possibility that strikes terror into the already-fearful brain). The horrible food afterward! (Seriously, I am shunning carbs these days, so there’s maybe two things on the list I can actually eat – eggs, and sugar-free jello. Gag.).
So, there I was, sitting there with palms sweaty, wondering just how horrible this appointment would be. Then the receptionist happily announced that my dental insurance was in “their network.” That was a first – and happy – moment.
Shortly thereafter, the nurse, Julie, came to get me. She was pleasant, too, and very kind to me while I babbled, fidgeted, and basically behaved like a scared child. When inputting my name into her computer, she double-checked that my actual name is “Sue” and not “Susan.” As her name is “Julie” not “Julia,” we shared amusing anecdotes about times people have called us by incorrect names. As the morning progressed, I was a little less nervous.
The doctor came in the room, still chatting with the nurse who was with him, saying something like “I’ve decided not to be frustrated about it.” (It’s a good thing when your oral surgeon isn’t frustrated, by the way). I naturally inquired what was going on and he indicated he was having problems with the licensing bureau.
If you’re a driving adult on the planet, you’ve likely had some difficulty with the license bureau. But after a few inquiries about what he’d been going through – trouble getting the same person on the phone, being told he hadn’t submitted proper paperwork, renewing the temporary tags, and getting a vin inspection – I had a sense of déjà vu. “Did you buy your car online?” I asked. Because our son did this in January, and it took months of emails and phone calls to get his actual license plates.
As it turns out, he did and he is currently going through the same rather annoying process to get his actual license plates that our son did. I was grateful to be able to assure him that, with perseverance, he would prevail in getting a real license plate.
It felt a bit like these interactions were all just supposed to happen. Maybe this tooth extraction won’t be so bad, after all. Godwink moments really do make a person feel better.
Godwinks! Now I know that Godwinks can be divine intervention, not just coincidence. Susie, after reading this Snippet, I learned you have another fear — dentists! Let’s see… there’s spiders, snakes, bats, big pills you can’t swallow and now dentists. Well, maybe not dentists, but dental work. Dentists don’t scare me, but after my near-death experience in the chair, shots do! So my plan was to write and let you know how you can overcome your anxiety and fear by concentration and relaxation. Just concentrate on the stressed parts of your body and relax them. The plan was to help you de-stress, loosen up, chill out, basically calm down every part of your body. Don’t pay any attention to what the dentist and assistant are doing. You just do deep breathing and relaxing. That was the plan…
Okay, now I have a temporary crown. The next day my husband and I go to Bob Evans for dinner. I was to avoid eating hard, crunchy, sticky stuff. I ordered Lemon Pepper Sole Filet with two sides, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli and dinner rolls. They brought the rolls with butter to the table right away. I split one, loaded it with butter and took a bite. Yummy! It was the third bite that I felt a foreign object in my mouth. My first thought was, it’s a diamond ring! Someone put a diamond ring in the dough and baked it! I won the prize! I kid you not, that thought flashed through my mind! Like I said, there’s no good way to say it, but — all the stuff went into a napkin. Surprise! This crown was twice as big as the first one!
Needless to say, I was on the phone early next morning. I couldn’t get an appointment until August! But the very next morning I received a call from the dental office. (Godwink?) “Can you be here in 20 minutes?” the nice lady said. “A patient has cancelled and if you can be here in 20 minutes we can take you.” “Absolutely!” I said. Now I’m sitting in the chair with two crowns in the baggie. Dr. Vic wasn’t there, but I have a new doctor who looks like she should still be in High School. The dental assistant had already taken an x-ray. The young doctor said, “ Put your legs over the side of the chair and swing around. I want you to see the x-ray.” I know absolutely nothing about reading an x-ray and she’s going on and on saying things like, “not enough jawbone tissue left, won’t support an implant, grafting and a surgeon.”
Wait a minute! I’m having trouble comprehending, analyzing, absorbing and retaining all this. I said, “Could you repeat everything you just said to me to my husband? He’s in the waiting room.” They agreed he should be hearing this too. Now there are four of us looking at the x-ray and I’m hearing phrases thrown around like, “using bone from one section of my body to shore up the target spot so it can receive an implant, and a skilled surgeon will be needed.” I wanted to scream shut the fffff…front door!
NOW I’m thinking of Susie! Karma! No wonder she was afraid and anxious with sweaty palms and racing heart! “You deserve this!” I’m talking to myself. Still talking to myself, I say: “Think fast! There has to be another option!” The other three are still discussing JAWBONE! I thought of Samson in the Bible who killed 1000 men with the jawbone of an … okay, donkey. So here I am, it’s my jawbone and I’m uh, the donkey. Skilled surgeon?! Aren’t they ALL skilled!
“Use your common sense, Betty, (not Elizabeth). You’re not an Einstein, but God did give you a fair amount of common sense!” My brain was in a whirl. “Why can’t they just attach another tooth to my partial?” The words just shot out of my mouth. You could have heard a pin drop. “I didn’t know you had a partial,” the young doctor said. Evidently partial dentures do not show up in x-rays. I felt I had just dodged a bullet!
When I got home I went to the mirror and took a good look into my mouth. Two glaring empty spaces and way in the back, I see it. It’s mocking, grinning, and taunting me… another crown! They say bad things come in threes!