Friday, November 10, 2006

No Holiday For A Blogging Sheep.

It seems that Debby and The Sheep are somewhat in "synch" right about now. She made a reference to my grocery store issues in her blog and I posted about the grocery store that very same night. In her comment regarding this happy little karmic "ko-inky-dink," she also referred to tonight's very topic! Perhaps there was some sort of weird "separated at birth" sorta thing that happened there... (note to self: check with Mommy Sheep on the whole twin possibility)

Today is an anniversary of sorts for The Sheep. Not my Blogoversary. Although that is upcoming. No. Today is a day that marks for this Sheep the beginning of 5 months of horror the likes of which she had never previously experienced. A time fraught with peril, anxiety and pain that has never been equaled. A period of my life dominated by a quite horrible fellow, one with whom I continued to associate despite the pain and angst he rendered.

It was on Veteran's Day, 2005 that I first made the acquaintance of Dr. De Sade, DMD. Also known as, "My Dentist." I wrote of him often. I filled the screen with descriptions of the horrors he visited upon my choppers and shared with the blogosphere many of his "insightful" comments regarding the state of education, child rearing, politics and any other topic he saw fit to expound upon while I was helpless in his chair of doom.

In the five months we spent together I endured a mechanical cleaning, 10 fillings, a root canal and crown placement. Much of this was done without benefit of pain killers as Dr. De Sade is not one to coddle his patients and does not necessarily believe them when they happen to mention three or four hundred times that novacaine does not always work well for them. Did I mention the root canal? Think about that for a minute...yeah. It was as bad as you are imagining.

He also may have dislocated my jaw at one point, but I can't prove that. I snapped it back when he was reaching for another pointy thing to stick into my gums and opted to keep that little piece of information to myself. I feared that pointing out what had caused the loud snappy sound might result in more chair time. I really didn't want more of the chair time...

Dr. De Sade was good for quite a few blog posts back in the early days when I didn't have a flourishing readership. (not like my twenty loyal readers now!) As the comment count began to rise a bit, I made the decision to pull back a little since I was sort of wondering if calling someone a, "souless demon from the underworld" might constitute some form of defamation of character. I also have to admit that my opinion of the dear man might be slightly influenced by the fact that my "relaxed" schedule of dental appointments in the past had led to a few issues to which he must attend. Not his fault, really.

But I still hate him. He did a freakin' root canal without working novacaine!!!!! He redeemed himself a bit with a hefty Vicodin prescription as a Sheepie going away gift after that particular visit, but it was not enough to bring back the love.

And it all began on Veteran's Day. Thus, The Sheep breaks her usual Friday Silence and posts. It has been a day of quiet reflection and flossing. It was all very spiritual and stuff...

When not lighting candles in memory of that carefree Sheep who did not fear the dentist and who is now gone forever (may she rest in peace), I knit furiously on the Feather And Fan scarf. I even have some "knitting pain" in my poor little thumbkin as a result! I feel just like a real knitter, by gum! Not that I have a lot of progress to show for it all, but in my little heart of hearts, I will know that I worked my digits pretty hard today.





Please...somebody tell me this looks longer. I beg of you!!!!
I hope that everyone took a minute today to thank a veteran, if only in your hearts. Whatever your political leanings, you gotta give it up for the men and women who serve in our stead. Policy is not set on the front lines. But that is where we see valor unlike anything that most of us will ever need to summon. Those who serve and their families have my unfailing gratitude for their willingness to sacrifice in our names.
And if you happen to have a nice dentist, you probably should drop him or her a big, old, "thank you" as well. You are so very lucky...
SA

































13 comments:

B. said...

Hi Pretty Sheep!
You and I have the same love for dentists. Fortunately, mine lets me suck on the nitrous oxide which makes all things on the dental front so much better!

I have been reading your blog for a couple of weeks and really enjoy your writing! You have a great gift...keep it coming!

Becky (aka Magpie...the Princess!)

sheep#100 said...

Yes, it is definitely longer!

Anonymous said...

I wasn't reading way back when during the dental trials and tribulations. Sounds like torture! Thankfully, I haven't needed a root canal yet, but every time I need a filling, or replace one that I pulled out on some chewy candy or something, my dentist is so smooth with the novicaine. I'll give you his name if you want it....

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, the scarf definitely looks longer!

Sheila said...

There is a definite lengthening of the F&F scarf, Sheep.
My dental surgeon is very nice (only charges me 30% of the balance left after the insurance pays-the "professional discount", tells me that he thinks about how I'm doing, gave me a coupon for a free oral CT scan), but there has been pain, nontheless. Pain is inherent in dental work, no?
I really like my dentist (bordering on crush-like), but I don't want to ever have to see him again. The best relationship one can have with a dentist is a
love/hate one, me thinks.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sheep,

As much as I would be proud to be your twin (I have two cats too...), and to have the fiber-supportive Mommy and Daddy sheep you are blessed with, there is one reason I'm pretty sure we're not twins...I am in the thirty-something range...I would hope the time distance between twins in the birth process would not be even so much as a year long, for the sake of the mother sheep. But we can be karmic twins, temporarily.

The dentist today was not so bad. I am convinced this is because I have a female hygenist and a female dentist. I insisted on a female dentist after the less-gentle efforts of a former male dentist (no, my mouth should not be in agony after a cleaning, thank you very much). She has never failed me. With anything more than a cleaning, I insist on my friend the nitrous oxide. We're all much happier that way!

That scarf is so long, it runs clear off the photo boundaries!!!

P.S. You didn't say, but I'm assuming you have a new dentist??

April said...

I found a dentist who will actually PUT YOU UNDER before doing all necessary work. I still haven't gotten up the nerve to go see him.

It's a toss-up which I'm afraid of more - dentists or snakes.

catsmum said...

all chanting together " It looks longer Sheepie :]"
Given that we are almost a day ahead of you, your Veterans Day coincides with our Remembrance Day [ Nov 11 ] At 11 am we have a minute's silence. Originally to commemorate the cessation of hostilities in WWI, at 11 on the 11th day of the 11th month, it's now a day to remember the veterans of all wars and those who didn't come home. I was teaching a quilt class today but we still stopped at the right time and listened to the Last Post being played on the radio.

Tania A said...

*hugs Sheepie*

Having just been to my dental preofessional .. while not a DeSade ... I can somewhat empathise. I learned I need a crown put on one of my teeth .. though, I get to have a pretty gold one, since it's on a back tooth and that'll be less grinding away of tooth-age. I really think finding another dental practioner might be to the Sheep's advantage though. I know I won't go to one that doesn't let me have the fun painkillers .. for my huge dental work (7 extractions in one day) I got nitrous, then got IV sedation. It was blissful.. I think. I remember only seeing a country music video on the TV and thinking 'I need to tell Jason about that', then the funny warm feeling as the surgeon injected the sedative into the IV, then waking up to them telling me Jason was back to pick me up. Oh yeah, and me blubbering and sobbing because I felt like I was old because I couldn't get my mouth to work to take my first dose of the wonderful narcotics I was given .. Vicodin w/ phenergan combined I believe.

Re: the scarf .. of -course- it's longer than you think .. though barring any reference items it's hard to tell. Drape it over your Wheel and take another shot! (No, that's not just an excuse to get a shot of the Wheel to show hubby. Honest.)

Anonymous said...

The scarf is longer, and mommy ewe's neck doesn't support any more than one double chin. Doesn't need to come to the waist you know. Looks lovely. Please don't need message therapy while working on a scarf. Thank goodness you are not getting a crown this year or a root canal. The work he did though makes for a beautiful smile and laughable conversation.

Lorraine said...

It is much longer and just imagine how long it will be when you block it. Blocking covers a multitude of sins.

Teri S. said...

I am very fortunate to know several veterans (my father among them). In fact, now that I think think about it, every generation in my family (except the current one) since the Civil War has served in the military. No doubt due to the draft. I will thank them.

I am very blessed to have a wonderful dentist. She dispenses novacaine as needed and is quite deft with the needle, leaving only the tooth being worked on numb. Perhaps you should consider moving to Virginia, Sheep, where the dentists are a bit more gentle with their sheepy patients!

Anonymous said...

Although I have been blessed with really good teeth for the most part, I too have horror stories about dentists. Yikes, whats with the cheap on pain-relief, they charge enough...I would have settled for a swig of whiskey and a bullet to bite on, as in the old Spaghetti Westerns but not even that was on the dental menu.

The worst pain I EVER remember was on the last trip to a new (recommended by a friend no less) dentist who Im sure enjoyed me jumping out of the chair at one point, when she dabbed on ("oops, Im sorry, I guess the freezing didnt take!!!") horror cleaning chemical, to an exposed root, waiting for a crown to be plunked over it. Like I said, THE WORST.

I fear that my next trip is in where to go next land, in terms of a reasonable and KIND dentist. WHERE ARE THEY HIDING!!!