“Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t”
I hate going to the dentist. Without exaggeration, there is 0% of a dentist visit that I like. Just opening the door of the dentist office brings a smell that is nauseating. Add to it the lovely sound of drills scraping metal against teeth enamel and it is enough to drive me insane. I had the lovely privilege of getting a cavity filled this morning so the smells and sounds were more intense. But, even more, it was a joy for all my senses. I got to experience water mixed with who-knows-what spraying into my face, the taste of Novocaine, and the sensation of numbness in half my face. Yes, indeed, all my senses were having a blast. Then, what may be the worst part of all, after my mouth had been stuffed with cotton, a rubber mask that they had somehow tied around my teeth and both of the dentist’s hands, he asked me a question that he seriously expected me to answer. As I was grunting and trying to communicate without moving my mouth, I started to wonder if he was truly dumb enough to think that I could talk – and, if so, why was I trusting him to drill out my teeth!
As I drove home from the dentist I thought about the experience. If it is truly that bad (and it is), why do I go regularly? The simple answer is that the pain of not going (my teeth rotting out) would be worse than the pain of going. I have decided to endure what I do not like so that I can have a better outcome in the future. I think that is true with a lot of things. The choices we make today have a direct correlation to how we live in the future.
So as I sit at my computer more than two hours after my dentist appointment and my mouth, face and tongue are still numb, I smile because I know that there will be one less thing to lose when I am old. My teeth will be in my mouth and not in a jar on the nightstand 🙂
What hard choices are you making today to have a better tomorrow? Please let me know in the comment section below:
