Nothing Nice to Say

For the past two weeks, I have had many blog topics swirling around in my head.  The problem is, I don't have anything nice to say.  Most of the things I feel like writing about are either gripes about human behavior or topics that are most likely going to upset someone who reads my blog.  So I will edit myself and instead share a delightful little nugget I have discovered about my job as a dental hygienist.

At the moment I work on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Thursday isn't a regular working day for me, but I committed to covering one of my co-worker's maternity leaves until February, so for the moment, it is a 3-day work week.  On the one hand, there are many positive aspects about going to work.  I have a 30 minute commute where no one bothers me unless I choose to call them.  I can listen to the radio or just sit quietly.  As long as I stay awake, it is problem free. I also get an entire hour to eat my lunch without a little bird-mouth squawking at me for bites of my food.  During this blissful hour, I can also check my email without feeling like I am doing something elicit.  This past Christmas season, my sister-in-law made a JibJab video with Ellie and some of her friends in it.  Ellie is obsessed.  We now have to hide our laptop from her because if she spots it, the whining commences.  At home, I feel like a misbehaving prisoner if the toddler warden comes marching into the room.  It is a duck and hide maneuver to keep the small silver box out of her sight.   Another positive about going to work is that I see between 10-12 different faces each day as patients. This provides me with numerous opportunities for adult conversation, but also leads to the a problem I have discovered with my job.

When I returned from my maternity leave with Ellie, I would make each patient suffer through story after story about my beautiful baby girl.  Any topic could be easily steered back to a conversation about her and how adorable she is.  With Owen, it is an entirely different situation.  The week I was supposed to return to work was the week he was first admitted to the hospital.  I returned back the following week instead with a very heavy heart after just hearing the devastating news about my son.  In marched my first patient and what is the first question out of their mouth?  "So, what is new with you?"  I will pause now and let you think of all the horrendous things that could have spewed out of my mouth in response to that question.  The most professional choice was, "Nothing really, how about you?" This exact senario is repeated 10-12 times a day.

Can you imagine having a beautiful baby and not talking about him?  I would say that I do my best to keep about 80% of my patients in the dark about his existence.  The other 20% know me enough to remember that I was pregnant the last time they saw me and therefore ask how the new baby is.  I do my best to keep it light.  I talk about how cute and sweet his is and then quickly move the conversation on to another topic.  At this point, I think I have told 3 patients the truth and none of them have left the room without crying.  People dread going to the dentist enough as it is, I don't need to compound their displeasure with the sadness of my life.  This makes my job, something that should serve as a temporary escape from my reality, a bit of a bummer. 

To switch topics and end this blog on a lighter note, I have discovered that Owen is ticklish!  I have only been successful in getting a giggle 3 times, but they are amazingly fun!  His dimples come out and he scrunches up his body and giggles!  It is THE best!