Poor Zach (age 24) developed a toothache last week. We took him to our dentist, who said all his wisdom teeth needed to come out. Of course, looking at a cost of around $2,000, along with possible general anesthesia, we took him for a second opinion. The second dentist also said they all needed to come out, but that just the one could come out for now. Zach was put on antibiotics, and had an appointment with an oral surgeon scheduled for the following Wednesday (today).

Over the weekend, the pain got worse and he was pretty miserable. I called the surgeon’s office first thing Monday morning and they said Zach could come in right away for a consultation. They worked him in and I was very happy (though Zach was not) to hear they could pull the affected tooth immediately. It was already in, but had grown over another tooth and a cavity between the two was the painful problem. I asked if we could keep the tooth but the nurse said they weren’t allowed to hand over the yanked ones. You see, Max (age 9) had asked Zach if he could put the tooth under HIS pillow.

Zach got a massive amount of Novacaine and they went to work on cutting the tooth in half and then pulling it out. They had to stop after a minute or so and give Zach MORE Novacaine. The tooth came out quite quickly after that and the dentist put the big half on a tray right near my chair. I, of course, took a picture of it for Max.

The doctor walked out and then the nurse went to get Zach’s prescription written up. Zach nodded toward the tooth and, holding his already-swollen jaw, whispered, “Go ahead and take it. They’ll never know.”

Looking left and right and, oddly, feeling a tad guilty for taking what belonged to Zach anyway, I quickly pocketed the cracked chomper, thinking how happy Max would be.

I sat back down in my chair and, a few minutes later, we walked to the billing desk, paid the bill ($340!!!), and left. Once out the door, we looked back, and were relieved nobody had followed us out, demanding the missing molar. We walked to the pharmacy, which was right around the corner, to get Zach’s prescription filled and, when we got back to the truck, Zach said, “Can I see my tooth?”

I reached into my pocket and…didn’t feel it. I found an old receipt, but no tooth. I pulled the paper out, and rummaged my fingers all over the inside of that pocket but it was completely empty….except for a large HOLE in the bottom! My finger poked through the hole and Zach’s face instantly changed from disappointment to amusement. We were both thinking the same thing. The surgeon’s staff had likely already found the tooth, probably on the floor right next to the chair where I’d been sitting moments before, knowing the young man’s mom had tried to snag the coveted cuspid .

The most amusing part is, Zach must return there soon to have the other ones pulled. I think I’ll, uh, let Richard take him to that appointment…

I have a Masonism for you this week:

When we went out to dinner last week, I asked Mason (age 4), “Do you want a hamburger?”

He said, “No, I want a BURGER.”

Hugs to all!

Angela

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HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY! by Angela Hoy
Using Angela’s MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years, and record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook. Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography! **Also works for biographies and memoirs.**