No Further Proof Required

Over the past few years, whenever I related an experience to family and friends - about my kids and our family life - I invariably closed the tale with "It's Never Dull." It's become my own personal tag-line. Sometimes, I say it with humor. Sometimes, I say it to keep from crying. And then at other times - to keep from screaming myself into oblivion...

This is one of those oblivion stories...

Last night at dinner, DD #1 tells me it hurts to bite her food. I am an extremely non-alarmist type Mom. Unless they show up carrying a body part, I don't usually get too excited. Otherwise, I would live in a tizzy. So along these lines - I don't pay her tooth-ache complaints much attention. But after the third of fourth time - it occurs to me there may actually be an issue here.

So I ask her to open her mouth and "show me what hurts." She opens. I look. I look again. I get closer thinking that what I am seeing cannot possibly be what I think it is. One of her permanent teeth - her beautiful, white, perfect PERMANENT teeth on the bottom is BROKEN OFF!

Stay with me. It gets better.

Once I reclaim my voice, I ask what happened. About this time DD #2 pipes up and volunteers that her sister would not get off the swing. I can feel the blood leaving my head. "What do you mean, 'She wouldn't get off the swing?' " DD #2 responds with "It's her fault - she wouldn't get off the swing so I had to throw a rock at her." DD #1 nods her head in confirmation.

My four year old daughter threw a rock at her six year old sister, hit her square in the mouth and broke off one of her permanent teeth.

I am at a complete loss. I'm not breathing. Not thinking. Kind of floating above my body. From up here, I can see that the kitchen floor needs sweeping and mopping ...

So today - when I need to be packing and preparing for my trip to Atlanta, I am running DD#1 to the dentist, testing the limits of my dental insurance and doing my dead level best not to strangle DD #2.


It's Never Dull...