Relax your tongue . . .

I had to go to the dentist today. I hate going to the dentist. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on that one. I truly admire people who go on a regular basis. I have a tendency to go only when I’m in pain and then – and only then – getting everything I need at that time.

Today’s visit was no different. Toothache – abscess – misery. Call the dentist. I was having a root canal done. I thought it would be a simple root canal, but it turned out that some of the tooth or whatever had calcified so there was a real struggle going on between dentist and tooth. I wasn’t afraid. I was fine. – for about 5 minutes. I think my behavior today was the worst I’ve ever had. I was the dentist’s nightmare.

I actually had tears streaming down my face during the work. I actually cried. The assistant was wiping my eyes – my chin was shaking – and I was making primal animal noises with every push, pull and noise. And, WHAT is with this “relax your tongue”? Who knows how to relax their tongue when half of their face is totally numb? I thought it was relaxed. Guess not. The assistant had to plop a tool on it to keep it out of the way. Later I asked if there were any exercises I could take that would help me understand what a relaxed tongue was. I even asked if they knew anything about tongue yoga? Evidently tongues are not a subject for amusement for a dentist who has to push them out of the way all day – everyday.

You know you must have been a real problem patient when your dentist comes back into the room when it’s all over and asks you if you hate him. Me, who hates to ever make anyone unhappy said, “no, of course not”. I may have been lying. I have to go again next week to have the job finished. I won’t be seeing that dentist again. He’s turned me over to someone else he calls “the specialist”. Doesn’t sound good to me.

Dog Comedians?

baby2.jpg
Originally uploaded by bysandra.

Do you think dogs know when they're being funny? Baby was on her couch nappy this morning with her head resting on the arm - and her tongue hanging out. It made me life. The picture is exactly the face I looked up to see. She didn't move - just stayed there, as if to let me enjoy the laugh. I went into another room to get my camera, thinking she'd move by the time I got back. She hadn't. I realized I had the wrong lens on the camera so Ihad to go back to get another lens, take off the first lens, cap it and then attach the second lens.
I walked back to the room and there she was - still in the same position. It was as though she were waiting for more laughs.
But then I thought perhaps the real reason she was still there - she's lazy. Cute dog. Funny dog. Hungry dog. And terribly lethargic dog. Nothing to worry about - it's just Baby.

MS Walk 2007

On April 14th, I'll be participating in my local MS Walk. I started doing this about four years ago.

My sister in law died from MS after 10 years of living in a nursing home - for many of the years, unable to walk or talk. Heidi was young. She had two little girls when she was first diagnosed. It hit her fast and it hit her hard. Her death was almost a blessing - that this young woman would be free of the prison that MS had put her in.

It's scary how many people I know who have MS.

My friend from high school, Donna, just lost her daughter Missy from it. Missy was 38 years old and had been bedridden for the past fifteen years. She left two children who were quite young when their mother could still walk and talk. Missy would have been a new grandmother this year.

Then there was David who I had graduated from high school with. Dave was only twenty-one when he was diagnosed with MS. I first learned he had it when he came to one of our class reunions in a wheelchair. He was such a good person, and a very, special dear friend. David died last year. I miss him so often. We used to phone each other regularly. He had such a great sense of humor and a positive way of looking at life.

David used to do the Walks with me. He'd show up early in the morning - whether the weather was cold or hot. I usually took David's caregiver about 3 and a half hours to get him up and dressed. Then he'd take the Medi-ride over to the Walk site. He never complained and love raising money to help eradicate this disease for future generations. Dave's sister Judy and twin brother Dennis also have MS - as does Missy's aunt Nickie. My friend Claudi has it, Anna Jo from my school days participates in the Walk in her area because her husband John has MS - Patti Lewis and Jolene Owens also from my high school have it. Another former classmate Mike Ludeman lost his father from it. Laura Glickman's uncle has it. Deena's Aunt Jane - Gene Wilk's wife was just diagnosed, as was Jackie Well's daughter-in-law Samantha. I'd love it if I had no names to include in this.

I suppose this is okay to blog about. It doesn't matter - if it's not. It's what's on my mind today. And, perhaps someone will read it and will want to help too. You can sponsor me at: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/bysandra - or you can just make a donation to the MS site. No set amount is required. Lots of small donations can go far.

I would love to see the day that there is no need to do a Walk for this disease. And when no one dies so young or spends a lifetime unable to move a leg or arm or to speak.

A good day!

Yesterday I spent the day at the Book Faire at my grandkids' elementary school. My daughter-in-law is PTA President and can use the extra help. I was sort of dragging my feet - not really wanting to go do this - I had a lot of my own work to do.

I was listening to the radio on the way over - the topic was about teachers. I think teaching is one of the most important careers there is. I got to thinking that since I was going out to the school, I'd try to be as positive and "nice" as I can so that my day would be a meaningful one.

As soon as I got to the Book Faire, I forgot all about my quest to change the world and just started helping kids find the books they wanted.

I went home when it slowed down and was asked if I would come back in the evening to "tattoo" the kids at the evening's family night at the Book Faire. They had a few games there, snow cones, popcorn, the tattoos - and time for the parent's to be able to purchase books.

I didn't feel well but headed back anyway. I really wanted to stay home.

I still felt tired but didn't want to let anyone down so headed back. After being there awhile - I was totally enjoying myself and forgot that I wasn't feeling very well. I noticed the other "tattoo artist" was just doing the tattoos and didn't really talk to the kids.

My last "customer" of the night was Amelia. She's in my grandson's class, has two sister and was waiting for her mom to finish talking to another mom. The kids were only supposed to get one tattoo but Amelia was last so I put several on her. We had a nice chat, and then her mom came over to get her and off they went.

I was taking a few minute break before putting everything away and leaving when about five minutes later Amelia's mom came back into the building and came over to me. She said I'd just made a friend for life because Amelia had told her she had such a fun time with Tanner's grandma (that's me).

I felt so special and couldn't help but smile to myself.

What I thought was so neat was that I had planned to make someone feel special - and in doing so - someone thought I was special.

The smallest of things - all free - can bring a smile - saying "hello" as you pass someone, letting someone cut in front of you in busy traffic, opening the door for someone, hugging your loved ones, spending time listening to someone else - baking something for a neighbor or family member - and the list goes on.

It's amazing how a smile and a kind word can sometimes do a better job than two Aleve!

Candy is dandy . . .

I can definitely tell when Spring is approaching, and I'm basically wanting to close the door on winter. I start using brighter colors in my work, and I try to think of lighter subject matter. For the past couple of months, when sitting down to design something - I've been steering myself toward foods. Not healthy foods - just colorful, full of sugar, fattening, glazed, gummy, jellied, chewy, crunchy, delicious candies. The good thing is that the only adjective listed in the prior sentence that applies is "colorful". They are non fattening, fun designs - truly capable of bringing some springtime cheer into an otherwise drab existence. Check 'em out they're guaranteed not to contain even one calorie. And, many designs don't even have food - lots of stuff.

My New Mug Design

Just having fun and came up with this new mug design. I've taken many of the new pieces of artwork that I've done lately featuring candy and treats and combined them into one. Actually I made this for myself - but thought it'd be sort of selfish not to make it available to others - so I've added it to mybysandra shop.

I originally made the artwork to be the header for another blog I have at: http://bysandra.wordpress.com

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