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Thanksgiving, Etc.
Dec. 5th, 2013 10:54 amThanksgiving went super well--the bus ride there wasn't bad at all, even with the storm. It rained but didn't delay us at all--I actually was able to catch an *earlier* connecting bus. Plus my step-mother's brother was supposed to join us with his daughters and they couldn't make it, due to the storm. I'm sorry to say that I silently yippeed. The uncle is kind of annoying--one of those guys who never reached his potential and is full of "if I'd stayed in college, I would've been a Rhodes Scholar" types. I remember calling Dad's place when I was in college and they weren't there but the uncle was and he was just SO TIRESOME. He wouldn't say whether they were there or not, kept playing these dumb games like "why do you want them?" and "what do you mean by that?" Plus he ran my Dad's restaurant into the ground. It's possible he's grown up since then but frankly I didn't want to risk my warm family Thanksgiving finding out!
So anyway it was just me and the parents--much as I missed my brothers, as anyone from a large family will tell you, one-on-one time with the parents is precious! Very nice and cozy. The parents live in an old farmhouse in rural New Hampshire--the house backs up to a forest and there's a little pond right on the property. They've done a ton of remodeling on it, including adding solar panels so now the whole homestead is powered with solar energy and heated with the numerous woodburning stoves we have. I was warm enough in my little room although I had a hard time sleeping. I went jogging three times--it's like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, or Currier and Ives, along that road. Highland Lake on one side of the road, sweeping fields with bundles of hay back up to the forest on the other, dotted with these old New Hampshire farmhouses. Very, very pretty. I just love it there and probably should visit a lot more! It's just such a pain to get to without a car...
One thing that made it so nice was that Daddy didn't go off about political matters. I am by far the furthest left in our little nuclear unit--my brothers are moderate to conservative, Liz is kind of a grab bag, and Dad is to the right of Attila the Hun (except that he's pro-choice and pro-gay rights. But RABIDLY anti-Obama, very pro-guns, etc.). I was kind of dreading any political talk--but Dad was great, only made one anti-Obama remark in passing. I should give him more credit, he definitely does not try to shove his views down our throats. (He's always held his tongue about the rift he and his brothers have with their sisters--he has talked about it very little and certainly hasn't tried to sway US (his children) against his sisters.)
So earlier this week I had--hold on to your seats here, kids, shocking news--MORE effing tooth trouble. I noticed Tuesday night that the crown toward the front of my mouth (in other words, this tooth, and this one--the same tooth that was crapped up by my crappy, expensive, ripoff former dentist) was loose. I PANICKED--I literally went cold at my computer. Called my dentist by it was after hours and they didn't have voicemail so I emailed them, begging for any time they could take me the next day. Was really, really freaked out Tuesday evening--I was just DREADING what might happen. Another dental operation that would cost me a ton of money, after how hard I've been trying to *save* money the past few months. Then I forced myself to calm down and think rationally. You don't KNOW that will happen, and maybe it'll just be a little thing that needs correction. I was talking to God about it, actually--I was able to calm down a bit although was still super stressed Tuesday night. I was also annoyed because I wanted to go to mass the next day (there's an Episcopal church some 20 blocks away on 5th Avenue, Church of the Heavenly Rest, that I've started attending--I really like them).
The dentist's office called me promptly at 9 the next morning and told me they could fit me in at 11. Dr. Kim looked at it and it *was* just a little thing--the glue had dissolved or something, so he just pulled it out, cleaned it up and reglued it. I was literally shaking during this and he told me "don't worry, it all looks as good as it could, it's not a big deal." The best part? This cost less than $5!!! When the receptionist told me that, I said deadpan "that's outrageous, I won't pay it." And pretty much danced out of there. And made it to church! My new dentist is the BEST and I am totally going to go onto Yelp and talk him up. I used to be so terrified of the dentist--and not because I was afraid of the pain, but the MONEY. My old dentists sucked and used me as an ATM--the worst was that they KNEW how worried I was about the money. That fucking hygienist, pushing those stupid EXPENSIVE ($100/pop) Arestin shots on me--you're a fucking HYGIENIST, why are you pushing an anti-biotic onto me (the weird thing about it was she'd say "it's up to you" and I'd flatly tell her I couldn't afford it, she would REALLY lean on me and double-down the pressure), you're not a doctor! While I'm on Yelp promoting Dr. Kim, I should put a few words in about the Levingarts (old dentist). Anyway, all is well now. Smile is preserved, as well as bank account :)
I'm having one of my days-long headaches, kept at bay by abusing my economy-sized bottle of Advil. God bless drugs. These headaches aren't the really bad ones I get sometimes* they just LAST. I chug ibuprofen, they go away for a few hours, then they're right back. I also massage the back of my head and around my ears a lot, which helps a little.
*About once or so every 3 years I will get absolutely TERRIBLE headaches, as bad as migraines, the kind where I literally cannot move or get up the pain is so bad. They last about 20 minutes and then taper off after that (so, not true migraines).
So anyway it was just me and the parents--much as I missed my brothers, as anyone from a large family will tell you, one-on-one time with the parents is precious! Very nice and cozy. The parents live in an old farmhouse in rural New Hampshire--the house backs up to a forest and there's a little pond right on the property. They've done a ton of remodeling on it, including adding solar panels so now the whole homestead is powered with solar energy and heated with the numerous woodburning stoves we have. I was warm enough in my little room although I had a hard time sleeping. I went jogging three times--it's like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, or Currier and Ives, along that road. Highland Lake on one side of the road, sweeping fields with bundles of hay back up to the forest on the other, dotted with these old New Hampshire farmhouses. Very, very pretty. I just love it there and probably should visit a lot more! It's just such a pain to get to without a car...
One thing that made it so nice was that Daddy didn't go off about political matters. I am by far the furthest left in our little nuclear unit--my brothers are moderate to conservative, Liz is kind of a grab bag, and Dad is to the right of Attila the Hun (except that he's pro-choice and pro-gay rights. But RABIDLY anti-Obama, very pro-guns, etc.). I was kind of dreading any political talk--but Dad was great, only made one anti-Obama remark in passing. I should give him more credit, he definitely does not try to shove his views down our throats. (He's always held his tongue about the rift he and his brothers have with their sisters--he has talked about it very little and certainly hasn't tried to sway US (his children) against his sisters.)
So earlier this week I had--hold on to your seats here, kids, shocking news--MORE effing tooth trouble. I noticed Tuesday night that the crown toward the front of my mouth (in other words, this tooth, and this one--the same tooth that was crapped up by my crappy, expensive, ripoff former dentist) was loose. I PANICKED--I literally went cold at my computer. Called my dentist by it was after hours and they didn't have voicemail so I emailed them, begging for any time they could take me the next day. Was really, really freaked out Tuesday evening--I was just DREADING what might happen. Another dental operation that would cost me a ton of money, after how hard I've been trying to *save* money the past few months. Then I forced myself to calm down and think rationally. You don't KNOW that will happen, and maybe it'll just be a little thing that needs correction. I was talking to God about it, actually--I was able to calm down a bit although was still super stressed Tuesday night. I was also annoyed because I wanted to go to mass the next day (there's an Episcopal church some 20 blocks away on 5th Avenue, Church of the Heavenly Rest, that I've started attending--I really like them).
The dentist's office called me promptly at 9 the next morning and told me they could fit me in at 11. Dr. Kim looked at it and it *was* just a little thing--the glue had dissolved or something, so he just pulled it out, cleaned it up and reglued it. I was literally shaking during this and he told me "don't worry, it all looks as good as it could, it's not a big deal." The best part? This cost less than $5!!! When the receptionist told me that, I said deadpan "that's outrageous, I won't pay it." And pretty much danced out of there. And made it to church! My new dentist is the BEST and I am totally going to go onto Yelp and talk him up. I used to be so terrified of the dentist--and not because I was afraid of the pain, but the MONEY. My old dentists sucked and used me as an ATM--the worst was that they KNEW how worried I was about the money. That fucking hygienist, pushing those stupid EXPENSIVE ($100/pop) Arestin shots on me--you're a fucking HYGIENIST, why are you pushing an anti-biotic onto me (the weird thing about it was she'd say "it's up to you" and I'd flatly tell her I couldn't afford it, she would REALLY lean on me and double-down the pressure), you're not a doctor! While I'm on Yelp promoting Dr. Kim, I should put a few words in about the Levingarts (old dentist). Anyway, all is well now. Smile is preserved, as well as bank account :)
I'm having one of my days-long headaches, kept at bay by abusing my economy-sized bottle of Advil. God bless drugs. These headaches aren't the really bad ones I get sometimes* they just LAST. I chug ibuprofen, they go away for a few hours, then they're right back. I also massage the back of my head and around my ears a lot, which helps a little.
*About once or so every 3 years I will get absolutely TERRIBLE headaches, as bad as migraines, the kind where I literally cannot move or get up the pain is so bad. They last about 20 minutes and then taper off after that (so, not true migraines).
