Thoughts whilst at the dentist

Today I returned to the dentist for my biannual filling of the cavities. It's a tradition my teeth and I have come to expect no matter how diligent I am in the areas of dental hygiene. At least this time it was just one and I only got slightly claustrophobic, unlike last time which was two and a whole face full of numb and spittle and anxiety induced nausea.  Yeah I've already blogged about this particular trial of mine so let's not beat a dead face even number.

How about instead I tell you my most recent thought process when I was reminded yet again of the weak state of my teefers. Thought processes are intriguing, yes?

Well, first I thought maybe dentistry was all one big conspiracy and that at some point in my early childhood I had been hand-picked as a guinea pig and tracked by dentists ever since to see how many fillings one mouth could harbor. And these dentists tell me I have cavities even though I don't, just for the sake of science!

Then I thought that was silly because why would a dentist want to fill cavities. Boring. I'm sure they'd rather be testing their mad skills in the root canal department.

Then my concern turned toward my children, hoping somehow they inherited the teeth of steel of their father who's only had one minuscule cavity his entire life.

Then I had a brief fleeting vision of chocolate. Not sure why. Don't most people think of chocolate like twenty times a day or is that just women?

Then I remembered how as a kid I used to gnaw on popcorn kernels with my two from teeth. Very naughty indeed.

Naturally I then thought of Bubba and his current biting tendencies. Now that he's got more than just two measly teeth, it hurts. I'm sure it hurts all his stuffed animals too. They suffer the brunt of this habit. I don't remember Bosco having this issue.

Ah, those two boys of mine . . .

Then I was officially caught up in a day dream. Happens often when I think of my kiddos. See, this picture of the above mentioned Bosco and Bubba tugs at my heart strings and certain synapses in my brain.

Mostly because seeing that reminds me of this:

A picture taken when Bubba was still fresh and new. One second after I snapped this picture Bubba had a major poop rocket and scared his big brother silly. Yes, one second later this picture would have captured a catapulted, flying Bubba. Understandably Bosco refused to hold his baby brother for a long time.

But that baby brother is no longer really a baby in anyone's mind but my own. Even the Husband insists he's toddler material of the finest kind.

Now call me a sufferer of the amnesia but I could swear that it was maybe two weeks ago that I first held this babe fresh from the womb, all covered in vernix (tmi?) with a full head of dark hair, smelling new,  and sort of looking like a beautiful outer space creature. But he was my creature. I knew this because of his nose and all, and because we took to each other like bananas to splits.

He was completely reliant on me. On us. All he could do was wiggle there on his back, wafting scents of sweetness and sometimes funkiness. Such is the bittersweet state of infancy.

But now this baby looks less like a creature and more like a full on boy to the most human degree. And instead of laying there in one cooing blob of baby fatness, he can now walk over to me, pat his backside and say, "Dis bah rum eee ooo uhh fi gah dom ba hah!" And I know he's proudly telling me there is a present in his diaper for me, and that he's planning on not listening to a thing I say today. And I also know, judging from past experience, soon he'll be able to say all of this in actual English which will lessen the cute factor by a slight degree.

That and his feet will start to smell. It's the way of his gender apparently.

And then he'll come nervously close to knocking his front tooth out just from walking . One in many trips to the dentist because he will have his mother's teeth, what with the cavities and all.

And now we've come full circle, thought pattern-wise anyway. You thought this ramble was going nowhere? You misunderestimated me deeply.

My point is cavities aren't all that bad. They make you ponder in a roundabout way. And pondering is one of the better skills you can possess. Much better than being able to lick your elbows. Talk about a waste of time (Please don't try this. You'll injure your neck and your pride. Trust.).