I signed Andrea out of school fifteen minutes early so we could make it to her dentist appointment on time. Despite my best efforts at helping her brush her teeth, sticking my huge hands (relatively speaking) into her mouth to floss, and providing a fluoride rinse she ended up with one cavity. In a baby tooth, which is cool, but one she’ll need for the next couple of years.
One thing my husband and I have always promised our children is we will never choose to lie to them. The word “choose” is just to cover those times when a parent promises a trip to the roller rink, but out-of-town company shows up or something. From a parent’s perspective, that’s changing plans. From a child’s, that can seem like a lie. But, I wondered, how much should I tell her in preparation for her first filling? Do I use the word “shot” or not?
Blessedly, we have the best dentist in the world. Dr. Myers kept up a humorous, running commentary the whole time he numbed, gave shots, and drilled. Afterward, I told Andrea how impressed I was with how she’d done only to find out she’d been terrified the whole time.
“Mom, I thought it was going to be like on Finding Nemo when he jabs the shot into the guy. But after the first shot didn’t hurt, it was okay.”
Andrea also shared her experience with Grandma when we got home. She expanded upon her fear, the two grunts she made with the first shots (which I didn’t hear), and how she’d shook the whole time (which I didn’t see).
“So did Mom hold your hand?” Grandma asked.
“No. She was writing.”
Busted. Yes, I must confess I added 400 words to my WIP during her appointment, crunched into a corner of the room, elbows lifted awkwardly to be able to type. Bring on the Mother of the Year Award!
Who says that a writer is only limited to their office. Bravo, you wrote in a location where most people shudder when they come within 10 feet of a dentist office.
Bravo to your little girl. I’m not afraid of the dentist but the whole thing just grosses me out.
Hey, you may want to check out your settings in Blogger and make sure you have an RSS feed enabled. I subscribed to you with Bloglines and I’m not getting notified when you post something new. (Bloglines is a subscription service that notifies you when blogs, etc. have been updated. Very handy).