In Which I Try to Drown My Anxiety in Tacos

So, in case I have not mentioned it, there is this long, ongoing saga about dental work that I am immersed in. I broke a tooth in August 2019, and am just now approaching the finish line for obtaining an implant and a crown to replace the tooth that was pulled.

Last week, the oral surgeon pronounced my new implant to be healing fabulously. So they took some measurements of my mouth with a tool that seemed like an electronic tooth brush, which is supposed to make ordering the appropriate size and shape of crown to be a breeze.

On this morning, my dentist's office called - after 9 a.m. - to ask me if I could come in late in the afternoon to begin the process for the new crown. Of course, quite ready to get this show on the road, I said Yes.

I also informed my husband that the location and timing would be great, as after my appointment, we could hop on over to Taco Bell for tacos. When we do that, we always take along extra cheese and sour cream, and I had a hunger for some crunchy tacos.

As you all are also aware, we are dealing with a medical issue with our beloved tabbycat Dexter. A vet appointment on Monday launched some bloodwork, whose results we hope will provide us with actionable items to address, so that Dexter may be restored to full health.

No news was actually forthcoming on this day. So Yes, I was a mass of anxiety, and was hoping to drown my anxiety in tacos!

So we went to my dentist's first. And you know the Covid drill. If you have a cell phone, you call them when you get there. If not, you go and rap on the window or door, hoping to get their prompt attention so they may ask you questions, sanitize you adequately, and take your temperature (97.8 F on this day, thank you very much).

The lady who met me at the door looked at me quizzically. "You look different," she said, looking me up and down. And I suddenly realized that I have come from the actual WORKplace for most of my prior dental visits, so I have always arrived in dress clothes mode.

On this day, fresh from working at home, I was wearing a navy blue PSU sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. OK, so I was not up to my usual sartorial perfection, but who IS during these Covid days?

And I went in, and we looked at shades of teeth and did some other stuff. And on my way out, I ran into my actual dentist, who was standing in the outer office reviewing some files. "You cut your hair!" he announced accusingly to me. I looked back at him, puzzled: "Actually, No."

And then I realized that since I had received the notice of the appointment AFTER the start of my work day, I did not have time to take a shower. (No, a shower is not always part of every day's regular daily routine, since I have been working at home.) So I let them down with both my outfit AND my hair! Who knew?

Then my husband and I went for tacos, and I had two beautiful crunchy tacos which you may see above. It was not quite enough to drown my anxiety (as a friend has informed me, it takes at least FOUR tacos to do that, and some anxieties apparently learn to swim). But it was certainly a worthy attempt.

I am torn between two songs for this Blip, so here they both are. First, waiting for test results on a creature you love more than life itself is a hard thing. As Tom Petty says, The Waiting is the hardest part. And of course, I MUST include this Pat Benatar favorite, which is from an album I play ALL the time: Anxiety, from Get Nervous.