tooth ache
July 17, 2014 § 9 Comments
Last night, as I tiptoed into my daughter’s room to quiet the last lingering light peeking from her closet doors, I stumbled into her fears littered like the remnants of play across a restless sleep. On the eve of a dreaded dentist appointment she was bundled beneath her quilt staving off the morning by stacking her worries against the dawn.
Cutting the light and toppling her defenses we lay side by side navigating the impossible unknown of questions without answers; Whatifs and Whynots chasing long yawns and silent tears. Rather than gift false promises in trade for sleep I cradled the discomfort of fear and let my daughter embrace uncomfortable uncertainties until she had exhausted herself naming each worry.
Stealing herself from anxious hours of anticipation, she sleeps soundly stretched against the sunrise this morning while I let her linger, a little longer, in dreams uninterrupted.
scribblechic 
You’re an awesome mom…that was very heart warming.
Thank you. Awesome feels a little overwhelming – I would celebrate a less weighted consideration of persistently imperfect with good intentions.
The anxiety is so much worse than the actual experience. I hope it goes well, and that her next visit to the dentist brings less apprehension.
The anxiety was matched in equal measure by relief; the new gap in her smile eclipsing last night’s tears.
I doubt anyone else has articulated the experience of a toothache in such a beautiful way, Marie. Such dreamy images and words.
Thank you, Diahann. Your compliment is most generous, but I must confess I feel very much the beneficiary of borrowed magic; everyday moments that inspire a more attune consciousness and gift a dreamlike lens to the fleeting experience of my children’s childhood.
Aww. This was so sweet. My daughter has just finished two appointments for extractions prior to having braces applied. Our dentist let me sit in the room with them while they did the work. It made a world of difference to my daughter.
It seems to me that creating room for parents during a difficult appointment is as much an act of care for the care giver as the child; peace of mind a vital component to physical and emotional well being.
We switched to this dentist because the peds dentist we were seeing would allow me in the room.