The Tooth Fairy

Tooth Emergency…..

Nathan needs his tooth pulled, I tried to do it I even wiggled it a little…..just can’t.  This goes back to my own childhood, I was terrified.  At age 7 I stopped eating for two weeks because my tooth “may” come out during the exercise of eating.  My mom thought me ridiculous, totally true; and I was mistrustful of her, “let me just wiggle it a little” tact.  I held on to the front tooth until it was drawing flies.  My mom sent me down the street to the home of our family dentist and it literally came out in his hand without any effort.  I cried, yelling, and sobbed all the way home.  I totally realized how silly I was and how overplayed the incident was, but none the less I held onto my twitchy self and was terrified of teeth.  My grandmother’s false teeth were no trouble because after all…..they weren’t really teeth.  Childhood logic!    Can’t imagine how this phobia came to fruition but I can tell you the cost to my ego.  As I grew, it followed me.  I was in Nursing School and was home for dinner one evening when my mother spit out her crown on her plate, I took one look at it and the next thing I knew I was on the carpet with most of my dinner on top of me.  Yes, I passed out cold; and no, that was not the only time. 

I was on duty in the ER triage area after 11PM when a young man in uniform…basketball I think, came running in with his parents, keep in mind 20 plus years ago, we didn’t even have security on duty in the ED and when security was needed we called and one of the Maintenance guys and they would show up with a huge wrench in their back pocket.  That was usually enough to stop the reasonable fool, if not the police were summoned.  So it was me, the parents and the patient.  I smiled at them and asked what brought them out to the ED this evening and as the boy smiled his broken tooth smile, opening his hand that had several pieces of teeth covered in blood, as did his broken smile.  Boom, I passed out cold face down on the table, my arms hanging at my sides.  I could hear the panic of the said parents as they rushed about looking for a staff member to help, but all the staff was behind a locked door.  The father picked up the phone on my desk and called the hospital operator and explained the nurse was out cold.  Next thing I knew I was being dragged, not too carefully and flopped unceremoniously on a stretcher.  My coworkers laughed at me for days, weeks, months, and years.  Finally, all the witnesses to my drop have moved on to other things and I rarely get any teasing, as I am the last left to remember.  Later In my career, I realized that the tooth thing extended to the nose as well.  As I was circulating in a plastics case one morning and the MD was hammering on a woman’s nose, and I quickly exited knowing what would come next…more pavement. 

So as you can guess, I am not any help to my children in pulling their teeth.  Healthy white non-gunky teeth are my favorite and I will brush their teeth even floss their teeth, and never pull their teeth.  That is what Grandmas are for!

Sisters

Oh my goodness, I'm finally figuring this format out.  Not bad for a 40 something year old?  Spoke with 2 of my 4 sisters today, kinda makes me sad not to hear from everyone during the week, Melbur is the most elusive.  Maggie second, only because she is managing being a newlywed, having two homes for sale, and trying to get in a volleyball game or two.  All of my siblings are so important to me, all in very different ways.  At times, some are easy...and then not so much.  But always they are precious to me.  The sisters that also have children are easier, because we share the same daily grind....but gosh when we get together it is noisy.  A great kind of noisy! Our children dearly love each other and nothing is more fun than the cousins.  My cousins were always 24 hrs drive or more away, so it is so nice to have family so close.  My sisters need no explanation on what makes me joyful or what makes me sad, I don't have to describe my childhood or who my parents are....but I am amazed at how very differently we relay the same events.  Our family had two sets of kids...the big girls and the babies.  I was the oldest....a member of the big girls.  I led when they would follow.  I listened, and housed several as they made their way through college, my young adult life was full of fun and had a sister in every adventure.  As we have grown, we have grown closer but you can bet at the next family dinner you will see us revert to our family "role".  I thank my parents regularly for the gift of my dear sisters and they are built in best friends.  I love you, Melbur, Monica, Maggie, and Ruthie!

                                                                 The Cousins Easter 2010

Father's Day Blessings

Just had a wonderful Father’s Day with all parties, two terrific Dads….My own Father and the Father of my children.  We had brunch with my dear ole Dad and BBQ dinner with my wonderful husband and all four children.  We hailed Grandpa at Brunch and of course the funniest “Spanking” stories were drug out of the closet.  They reappeared funny as ever and we laughed together remembering the twice my Dear Ole Dad had to spank us children as he mostly left the discipline to my mom.  We knew he always had her back! Both instances our Mother was off do gooding, and left my father to manage all 5 children which he did kindly and sweetly.  He worked hard, an executive at Xerox and he was home by 6 in his three piece suit, and often would drop in his recliner fully dressed with paper in hand he would nod off and we would tiptoe around him, not being instructed in any way to leave him alone; but out of respect for his labors.  His only interruption was my youngest sister Ruthie, a preschooler, who would back into his lap with a book insisting to be read a story by her favorite person, Dad.

After returning home from a lovely brunch at my parents, we all had naps/quiet time and then Joshua was out at the dirt track with the boys practicing one of their favorites, dirt biking.  Everyone came back full of smiles, Joe collected eggs from the chicken coop while Joshua and Matty cleaned up the bikes and put everything away neatly and with great care.  My husband has always been a maintainer of his things.  He believes everything has a place and should go directly there after a thorough cleaning, of course.  His hammer is never misplaced and his tape measure is always exactly where it should be.  I love this man, and I love the way he is teaching our boys to be men.  Many blessings this Father’s Day!

YMCA Camp Week

6-18-2010

My children are at last home, seems like a lifetime without their noises in the house.  My sister Ruth decided our children should go to the YMCA camp in Hendersonville, she had a plan.  The children would go to camp Monday-Friday 8AM-6PM and she would drop off and pick up and have my three boys spend the night for the week so I didn’t have to drive to Hendersonville twice a day.  You know when a plan is coming together…sounds great…..I can get some painting done.  Next week I’ll have her crew for several days while she goes to a conference.  Our children are finally at the age, where going to Aunt Tracey’s house is big fun. 

Little did I know that the Sinus infection that I have been fighting for the last month with high powered antibiotic is still alive and well?  I showed up in my Allergists office before business on Wednesday and he graciously saw me first thing, and then went to ENT office for a mini head scan of my sinuses.  The machine was so small and resembled a panorex, I was sitting straight up for the scan.  Then back to the Allergist, and as I walked in the phone was ringing, it was said Allergist and he said, go back; your scan is terrible and you need to see the surgeon.  So now I have to tell my boss….not looking forward to that, still putting it off.  Back on antibiotic and high doses of steroids, my husband groans as the steroids make me aggressive.  A wonderful trait in a sumo wrestler, terrible in a wife and mother; but I digress. 

So I went to pick up the children, and met my sweet and wonderful husband downtown for a little family fun.  Gracie barely made it…..DOA.  More fun than her 4 year old self could keep up with at grandma’s house.  She had a week with her grandparents and now thinks they will be terribly lonely without her 0700 ready to go self.  My parents enjoyed their time, but they were probably in bed by 8PM.  I don’t blame them, but with these steroids I’m not sleeping and it’s starting to make me a little crazy, on the up side I am getting so much done.  At some point I’ll just fall down.  Tomorrow it’s bathrooms and laundry, or maybe later this evening? 

The bottom line is, kids are home, husband is too and home is definitely where the heart is!

old photos

Old photos are amazing in the fact that they are so powerful.  They can drum up a memory like it happened yesterday.  They can make you miss people, remind you of the girl you used to be, and bring joy or pain.  My children love to look through their photos of the first year of their life.  My dear friend Christy H. introduced me to Creative Memories 15 years ago and I have been scrap booking ever since.  I did a "first year" book for each of the children that includes my pregnancy to their first birthday.  They recognize themselves and their family members and love to tell the story of their birth...now it all runs together, but the pictures keep it fresh.  I can almost smell the new baby smell looking over the pictures.  Yesterday I was one day post op from a procedure and I laid around most of the day with my mother here to assist.  So the kids took the opportunity to drag out the photo books and we relished in their milestones, and I had a moment to appreciate how far we have come in our journey.  Matty, my first born has the biggest book and they thin as you go down the line of the four children, as one would expect.   But with the advent of digital photography, there are many many photos to enjoy.  It isn't often that I take the time to dance down memory lane, but the opportunity of rest presented itself from the usual race to finish the day and I totally enjoyed the pictures of precious little faces.  I am truly blessed.

Joe Bear

I have a son, named Joseph...we call him Joe Bear.  When he was 8 months old or so he sounded like a baby bear and when you would hold him close he would hold on like a baby bear, and his skin is a beautiful brown color...unlike the rest of the white people who live here.  He gets this from his very Greek Grandmother.  He has huge eyes, and tucks his lips in, the most adorable way.  He can work around his mother, and frequently finds himself in big trouble, as his curious nature brings trouble his way.  When he was only 3 he fell in love with vacuums.  He couldn't believe after plugging it in that it would make the most marvelous noise and suck up dirt from the floor and we had several.  He had a red dirt devil that he would cart from room to room.  He especially made his Aunt Tiea nervous with the plugs.  He was fascinated by the whole process.  When he was 4 he turned by new environmental vacuum over and stuck his thumb in the roller while it was in motion.  It skinned him and he had a dripping wound for 6 weeks or so.  He really injured himself, a degloving and has the scar to prove it.  Last month while my eldest son was swinging from a rope swing that goes over a 20 foot drop off, Joe thought he should pull an Indian Jones and jump off catching the rope, he hung on until the swing passed over the drop off and did a flip mid air and landed flat on his belly scaring his Aunt, cousins, and mother half to death.  He has no idea that he is travelling too fast on his bike...(break neck speed).  And he thinks that our sitter Nicky is out of her mind because she will  not let him ride his bike on the cement, only on the grass.  She has full understanding of what he is capable of.  Joe recently burned his index finger with a match, he found a small box of matches and squirrelled it away until the perfect moment, and even had his sister, (the narc) sworn to secrecy.  Joe also rolled up a band aide and stuck it up his nose.  Why?  His nose was itching.  After a trip to the ED, they couldn't get it out, an appt with the ENT doctor to remove it with a scope was scheduled for the next day.  The following morning it was laying on his pillow, he had sneezed it out during the night.  Joe has been know to hide sweet n low packets under his pillow, and snacks on these as needed.  He has forgotten about more trouble than most know, and when you correct him he looks honestly sorry, but would do it again in one hot minute.  My Joe is a living testimony of prayer.  He is now six years old and has notified his father and I that he does not want to be in first grade that we should send Gracie his younger sister instead.  Since we home school our children, he will have to belly up to the school table late August with the rest of his siblings.  My job is to keep him in one piece for the summer.  This keeps me on my knees.