Recently, we had a family visit to the dentist. Kiera had been to the dentist before when she was much younger but I don’t think she remembers, so we are calling this her first official visit.
The night before we went, Kiera and her Daddy watched a video on what to expect at a dentist visit. The next morning, she could barely contain her excitement as she dressed for school. She double-checked that we would be picking her up from school to take her to the dentist. After assuring her several times that was the plan we dropped her at school.
Aaron picked her up that afternoon and brought her to work before we had to leave for our appointment. Kiera flitted from office to office, letting everyone know that she was going to the dentist. She was glowing with excitement as we pulled into the dentist parking lot.
Once inside, they called her and Aaron back. I went with Kiera to make sure everything went smoothly. Sometimes I forget that my 5-year-old seems more grown up than I do at times. I shouldn’t have worried at all. She climbed right into the chair and settled in for the dental hygienist. Not once did she fuss or complain as they checked her teeth and cleaned them.When she was finished, she wandered into the room Aaron was getting his teeth cleaned. She noticed that he was holding the ‘spit-sucker-up-thing’. Those are my words. I have no idea what that particular instrument is called, but I bet you know exactly the instrument that I am referring to, don’t you?
“Hey! I didn’t get to use that!” Kiera exclaimed and pointed to it.
“Well, Daddy’s teeth require more work. His were a lot dirtier than yours.” I responded quickly. I could have thought my response out a little better, but that’s what popped out. Aaron has not lived the visit down yet. Kiera reminds him from time to time that her teeth were the cleanest.
I don’t do so well at the dentist. Actually, I am a lot better than I used to be, but my blood pressure still tends to rise a little. I’m way better at the dentist than I am at the doctor. Maybe one day I will tell you about my first visit to a new family doctor. Let’s just say he and his staff know who I am after one visit and leave it at that for now.
My visit didn’t go quite as smoothly as Aaron and Kiera’s did. Friday, I will be the proud owner of a crown, for my tooth. Yeah! I hope I am conveying my excitement.
I never really thought about explaining the crown part to Kiera. I mentioned that I would be getting a crown but she never asked for more detail. A few days later, I was visiting with Kiera’s GiGi. She laughed and told me about a conversation between her and Kiera from earlier in the day.
“My Mommy is getting a crown.” She told GiGi.
“Really?” GiGi responded.
“What kind of crown is it? Like a queen crown or a princess crown?” Kiera inquired.
Now, I had not thought of that, but my princess obsessed child did. Her GiGi went on to explain that it covered my tooth and was not a royal crown. “Will it stay?” Kiera asked. GiGi responded that it would indeed stay.
“Now I know.” Kiera responded and headed off to play.
Aaron and I had a great laugh over the queen or princess crown bit. In fact, the next day at work, I very nicely explained to my two male co-workers that they could refer to me as ‘Your Highness.’ Surprisingly enough, they rolled their eyes and laughed at me. It’s so hard to find loyal subjects these days.
