My typical Monday routine involves me seeing the kids out the door, and then shuffling my feet around the house for 30-45 minutes until Beloved finally glares me out the door to the gym. I work out, shower, and do some reading for class, which starts at noon, and then the other, which starts at 1:45. I then get a 2 hour break until the last one, which starts at 5:30.

Today, however, J had a dentist appointment. She had to get an itty bitty filling before we can go and do the pre-braces appointment on Thursday. Insurance requires "pictures" of her teeth, and I was told that we'll be DENIED this orthodontic work being treated as "necessary" if she has unfilled cavities. Today, the dentist told me, basically, that the receptionist was full of shit - that if J had a gaping hole of decay, then yeah, it may get denied, but she had nothing of the sort, and he was a little irked that I didn't (for the second time) bring him in on the conversation with the receptionist.

Anyway.

Her appointment was at 9. Therefore, there would be no gym for me. I did forget, though, that this means that there is no SHOWER at the gym, and so I got up at my usual time and threw E in the shower - without taking my own first. I wasn't about to spend the day stinky, so I hopped in the shower AFTER her, which meant I couldn't ensure that she was moving along with the daunting tasks of her day - such as putting on underwear ... and socks.

J was fine at the dentist - the cavity was little and didn't take much time. She also wasn't phased by the filling.

But she was phased.

And upset.

And stressed.

Why?

Because the dentist mentioned last time that he was going to pluck out the baby teeth which are stubborn as hell and won't fall out despite the fact taht the big teeth have broken through the front part of her gums.

She didn't want her teeth pulled out.

I was trying to be a goof (i.e., freak) all morning, singing goofy songs about how cozy and cuddly her gums are, and that her teeth love her, and don't want to go bye-bye into the big cold world with no cozy cuddly gums to protect them.

Her realization that her mother is a freak did work as a momentary distraction.

Too bad it was the moment in which her mother was buying a triple venti nonfat latte, and not during the moment that her teeth were being pulled out.

She lay on the chair in the dentist's office in such a rigid state that he ordered up some laughing gas for her. he was afraid she was going to climb the walls mid-procedure.

She hated the way it felt. We won't be doing that again. We'l pull out the breathing exercises, instead.

The dentist's office kind of annoyed me. They didn't know how to call a damned spade a spade. I was working with J to know waht to expect, and to not be surprised. "They're going to pull out your teeth, but honey, they don't have any roots, and it isn't going to be like when people have wisdom teeth or other teeth pulled, it is more of a "plucking" than a "pulling."

See, no big deal. She knows what's coming, but doesn't have to freak out.

What do they say?

"We're just gonna wiggle this tooth a little bit."

Wiggle it? You're gonna WIGGLE it? And what's she gonna say when she runs her tongue over her gums the next minute?

I mean, seriously. She's 8 - she's not 2, and she's not suffering from diminished mental capacity.

They also don't say the word shots.

They'd given her a topical numbing agent, and I said, "is that instead of a shot?" (Which I'd prepped her for, and which she was FINE with), and the dentist and his assistant both looked as if they were about to tackle me and have me bound and gagged. The assistant especially, with her arms flailing and lips pursed and "shhhhh"ing me. She said, "we don't say that word here! We say "drops."" Drops.

Okay. And when the "drops" pierce through her gums? Then what? Oh, sorry honey, they were sharp drops???

And yes, since you ask, I am one of those people who taught my daughters to discuss their vaginas, and not some cutesy little word in its stead. I am also known to use the word "penis" when discussing a penis.

Anyway - she survived. But she left there feeling crappy after having her mouth all stretched out and numb for 40 minutes, and she was chewing on gauze (b/c those baby teeth really didn't want to let go, and left more wreckage behind than I would have expected - not too much, but enough to require her to bite down on gauze for 1/2 an hour). So I brought her home. The dentist also said b/c those baby teeth were slightly loose for MONTHS, some plaque had collected, and they were a little irritated because of that, so we should be careful of what she eats - nothing too spicey or acidic. The school serves tomato sauce a lot, and I didn't want to risk her not having lunch that she could eat, so we fed her at home.

I didn't get to school until 11:55. I was (am) very disoriented because of it. My routine is off. I also didn't have a normal first class - we had a Human Rights speaker come to campus, and my International Law class attended that instead of our typical class.

So I am truly all messed up today.

Happy to see that the Supreme Court believes in Global Warming, though. And according to Lyco, there is more good news for our planet coming out of the Court today.

Labels: kids, law school, Supreme Court

posted by Zuska @ 3:58 PM

0 Comments: