By Jenny Boykin of Courage to Change
. . . Not the stripping pole kind. The back left molar kind.
I learned this at the dentist’s office last week as a result of my first ever dental emergency. I had been having pain in my left jaw for about four weeks (I know, I may have waited a bit too long on that one.)
Anyway, my dentist says to me, “Well, Jen. You always have been a bit of a grinder.”
Huh?
Dr. D continues, “Well, you know. You’ve had a lot of stress these last few years.”
What stress?
Oh, you mean the surprise-divorce, single-mother-works-with-people-who-steal stress followed by remarriage-to-blended-family thing?
Or, do you mean the recently-self-employed-by-choice but don’t-know-what-the-fluck you’re doing stress?
Or, perhaps you mean the regular old when-will-my-kids-stop-getting-Ds and why-does-the-cat keep-bringing-me-dead-friends and when-will-his-friend, Mr. Puppy, stop-pooping-on-the-carpet stress?
At this very moment my beautiful white shag rug is in the washing machine because the dog brought the cat’s dead mouse into our home and laid it out there for me as a token of his appreciation. In addition to my brush with taxidermy this morning, I’ve also dealt with legal stuff, financial stuff, kids and grades stuff, new business stuff, my husband’s calendaring mistake that was discovered AFTER we spent $200 on concert tickets stuff, and other various sundry stuff that most women handle from day to day.
Basically, it’s just another day in paradise.
So, yes, Dr. D, I guess I’m feeling a MITE STRESSED and may be grinding just a tad.
To help out, my dentist made me this elegant little daytime bite guard so I won’t hurt myself any more. Unfortunately, the tiny little thing is held together with bright yellow adhesive the color of French’s mustard. Now I look like I had an unhappy encounter with an Oscar Myer wiener.
But at least my jaw doesn’t hurt.
Photo credit: panamericantelevision.com
