Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Happy Birthday-Eve to Me!

Today was my last day of being 20-something. Yup, tomorrow I will enter my 30's. Weird? Yes. I can remember being a little kid and thinking about Old. At what age does a person officially become elderly? To my 6-year-old mind, Old began at age 30. Now that I am almost that magic age, I know better. Old begins when you decide not to be young anymore. That in mind, I decided to have fun on my last day of 29. I had it all planned out--after I picked Pepper up from school, I was going to take him out for a pizza lunch, do some birthday shopping for Snapper, take Pepper's bike to the park and work with him on riding it, and go to the library for book time before Snapper got home from school. It was going to be a wonderful day, full of fun for my little boy and me.

We got to have our pizza lunch together. He ate 4 slices of pizza, making it very worth the investment! Then we headed over to Barnes and Noble so Pepper could buy books to give Sis for her birthday. As I sat at the red light getting ready to turn into the parking lot, I had a sudden, strange sensation in my mouth. And then I felt something hard on my tongue. I reached in and removed what I thought was a piece of my lunch, only to find a chunk of tooth. And then the pain hit. Feeling the back of my teeth with my tongue confirmed that a large piece of the small tooth next to one of my front teeth had indeed chunked out. I am currently between dentists. So I got a couple of recommendations from friends, and made a few calls to find a dentist who would take a right-away emergency case. Matt came and picked up Pepper from me, and I drove 20 minutes to my new dentist's office.

I left the office 3 hours after I arrived. Turns out I had 4 moderate cavities and 1 major cavity in my front teeth. Yes people, in my front teeth. The piece that broke off was not even related to a cavity. So while my smile is sparkling and white once again (those teeth had gotten kinda tired-looking), my pockets and the front of my face are sore. All I can say is thank God for nitrous oxide and motrin! And thank God for grandparents whose hard work and generosity to me over the years paid my very...hefty...dental bill today.

Okay you moms, I can't stress this enough: Brush your children's teeth every morning and every night. Post a list of their favorite songs by the bathroom sink, and let them pick a song for you to sing to them while you brush their teeth for them. It has to be a substantial song like Jesus Loves Me (3 verses), or Old MacDonald (3 animals). Or recite 5 Little Monkeys for them while you brush. Get some of those handy, pre-strung flossers and floss their teeth, too. Get them started in a good pattern of oral hygiene while they are very young. Their teeth (and your bank account) are worth it.

To set the record straight, I don't neglect my teeth. In fact, I am ridiculously anal about taking good care of them. I think it is disgusting that regardless of brushing 2-3 times a day, flossing every day, and using mouthwash, I have these issues, while my husband, who brushes once a day and never flosses, never has any problems with his teeth. Ugh!

So happy birthday eve to me! I sure hope Matt already bought my birthday present, because my miscellaneous/gift budget is gone until February!

7 comments:

Hofwoman said...

Happy Early Birthday to you!

Oock! How yucky about your teeth! Hope that you feel better and can enjoy some birthday cake tomorrow :)

Blessings!

Unknown said...

HAPPY BIRHDAY EM!!!!!! Hope you have a LOVELY day tomorrow and I'm hoping you feel MUCH better in the mouth tomorrow! God bless you! You are such a great person and pray the Lord blesses you mightily tomorrow!

Lori said...

Happy birthday, Em!

(And I once had a cavity on a front tooth too, right after we got married!)

Matt said...

For the record, I don't brush every day, and I do floss about once a week. I use toothpaste maybe half the time I brush. I do have cavities, and I am paying the price for this neglect, albeit not as much as you. =( Hope you're having a great day today, and that it goes according to plan! No more unpleasant surprises!

Larie Carlice Proverbs 27:19 said...

Hello Emily! Thanks for visiting "My Heart Speaks." I understand about the "last day in the 20's 'drama' saga!" The night before I turned 30, sometime after 11p.m. I decided to send a text message to various friends and family that stated my concerns about that specific time that was my last time that I'd be able to say that I'm 29, the last day in my 20's.

Some found the humor in it while others told me to chill out and go to bed!

I also agree with you on the cavity thing and your husband. My husband is the same way and it works my nerves! ha ha

Well, I'd like to stick around for a while so you will "see" me again!

smooches,
Larie

Stef said...

I did not realize you're 30! For some reason I thought you were born in '78 like Trisha. Wow - welcome to the big 3-0! I'll be joining you in 5 months :)

The Yorks said...

Oooo! Teeth trouble is awful, sorry babe. Just so you know, my dentist once told me that everyone's mouth chemistry is different and some people, no matter how perfectly they take care of their teeth get cavities and the like. My family is a perfect example: my sister takes really good care of her teeth but she's just more prone to plaque and therefore cavities. My brother and I on the other hand, rarely get build-up (although not brushing and flossing grosses me out so I still maintain good oral care, can't say the same for my bro, ew!!!)