Rooted Out

As noted last week, in my body's ongoing and ugly quest to remind me that I am middle-aged and getting older, I had a tooth fall out as easily as the leaves raining down from the trees here in Connecticutistan. This led to an emergency visit to the dentist which then brought me to today's dental delight, a root canal.

I've intentionally insulated myself from the horrible intricacies of dental procedures. This was not an easy task being married to a very talented and gung-ho dental assistant. The stunningly patient and mighty fine SML knows from teeth and procedures. I quickly learned that her 'talking shop' at the end of the day grossed me out. I could not handle hearing about the procedures. Loved her enthusiasm, just couldn't handle the details.

Over the weekend, in dreaded anticipation, I did, begrudgingly, ask her to break down what I was in for  in terms of this procedure. She started to break it down, like my tooth, for me. When she got to talking about the need to fill the wreckage of my tooth with paper, I was done. The less I knew the better at this point.

The name of the procedure, 'root canal,' infers a lot of digging about and unpleasantness. There's a lot about the process to dislike but writing this some six hours later, it wasn't as bad as I thought. No massive bleeding or gore. A lot of Novacaine made it easier, a lot easier. I will say this though, a lot of what they say to you about what they're doing during the procedure could be seriously misconstrued if taken out of context. 

Now, I'm left with a splitting headache and the specter of more dental work in a few weeks. Oh, and the admonition to avoid 'crunchy' foods. And here I was so looking forward to downing a box of Grape Nuts tonight!

The Empty Nest, or Our New Normal

With the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML's return last night from her week-long sojourn in the deserts of Arizona, we have officially embarked on our new life as empty nesters.

For those of you of a certain age, I beg you to please not confuse our new life with that which was depicted in the massively awful late 80's/early 90's sitcom, 'Empty Nest,' which reminds us A) what a vast cultural wasteland was the state of television in those bleak years and B) that the male lead was actually the Bald Eagle in 'The Muppet Show.' Seriously, this new life of ours is far from a sitcom. What it has been and will continue to be is is a pretty simple, good life.

I mean today was fairly mundane. I had my version of a 'spa' day - in the barber''s chair, getting a haircut and watching a Premier League match. Then it was off to the grocery store where we spent about half what we normally do now that it's just the two of us. If this continues, this is a benefit of the Empty Nest Syndrome that I'm going to really, really like. We then hung out later in the afternoon at a little deli/market, grabbed a couple slices o'pizza, and watched people go by. It was nice to just soak up the sun, as this will probably be the last really nice weekend we have for awhile, and and just be together.

We still have a lot to figure out as we embrace this new life. But let me be clear, no one is depressed or suffering clinical anxiety as a result of our last one, The Missionary formerly known as The Boy, leaving. It's actually a pretty exciting time for us. Who knows what we'll do? Maybe we'll take up a hobby together. If you're expecting it to be ballroom dancing, you can just forget about that right now.

Bollywood dancing, maybe, as that would go nicely with my current obsession with the music of Panjabi MC; but ballroom dancing, no way, no how.

Missing Something

Why, yes, you are. Thanks for asking!

There are things that happen during your childhood that are rites of passage, like that first day of school or learning to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels, that are momentous. There are other things that are mundane, like losing a tooth, because as a child, you lose a lot of them.

You do not lose teeth randomly when you are an adult in most cases, unless you are on the receiving end of a punch from Manny Pacquiao, enjoy a delightful meth addiction, or are a middle-aged man who clearly should not have taken a bite of that 100 Grand bar. Today, I learned that lesson. 

After taking a bite of the chewy caramel goodness that is the aforementioned bar, I felt that one of my upper teeth had a bit of caramel clinging on. A flick of the tongue did nothing so I thought a quick tap with my finger would do the trick. I know, probably TMI, but before you puke, this was done in the privacy of my home office. As I tapped, I felt the slightest give and before I knew it, I had two-thirds of my tooth in my hand. Not a bit of pain and no blood. Just most of my tooth. Don't believe me? See for yourself:

I was incredulous. Although alone in my home office, I blurted out, 'Holy crap! I'm Cletus, the slack jawed yokel!' Soon after, a raging headache set in. I cleared my calendar and called the dentist. When I explained my predicament, the receptionist sounded like she didn't believe me. 'Ma'am, I'm telling you, my tooth fell out. I'll text you a picture,' I said. She said that wasn't necessary and told me to come on in.

So a few hours later, I have some two-thirds of my tooth missing and an appointment for a root canal, which is only one phase of many to repair the tooth, on Monday. The dentist did some work on the tooth to 'clean it up,' in her words and get me ready for Monday's fiesta. I've been told that for the next few days, I'm to avoid crunchy foods (?) as well as bagels (?). So it looks like I'll be enjoying a nursing home diet of scrambled eggs and soup. This seems fitting, doesn't it?

On another note, we got an honest-to-goodness mailed letter from the missionary formerly known as The Boy today. It's been posted on his mission blog, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, if you want to take a look.

The First Sighting

It's been five (long) days since we dropped off the missionary formerly known as The Boy at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Until this evening, we had yet to hear any thing from him. While we still haven't gotten a letter/email, what we just got was worth a thousand words.

That smile says it all.

He is happy.

Can't ask for much more than that. I think I'll sleep more soundly tonight.