You know I just had a revelation. I have been concerned that we as a family don’t talk about important things as we go about our lives. Of course, as a mom, I give my kids mini lectures all the time about life, things I want them to know. I tell them about when I was their age or memories I have of life as a kid, or memories of my first time driving a car. Just the other day I was telling them why I chose the pediatric dentist in Port St. Lucie, instead of our town, Stuart. I had forgotten. Mentioned it always seem like long drive when they were little and Daniel said why did you pick this one? And I remembered why I went to the trouble. Because he was the only dentist who let the parents come back with their kids. I had forgotten. It was because I was Mama Bear and I didn’t want my kids to be scared without me, with strangers. And because he was kind and came out to greet them, wearing a baseball shirt and squatted down to their level to talk to them and treated them like they matter. After the first few times at the dentist, they were happy to go back without me. Also, being “on TV” and TV’s above the chairs so they could watch cartoons while they worked. And truly, they all care.

I remember my dentist from when I was a kid. Dr. McKenzie in St. Mary’s. He was kind and had a nice smile. We got to choose something from the treasure box each time. In an old house on the main street. Gentle. I don’t remember being scared. So that’s my whole memory of going to the dentist as a child. I am sure we went annually if not more often. My mom took good care of us. And my memories of all those experiences boil down to a few sentences.

It’s not important that I remember more. My brain has to be efficient in what it stores. Leaving room for more important things and more recent occurrences.

Same with the orthodontist. I had braces for five years. That is a lot of weekly orthodontic appointments. My memories: the orthodontist was the only man and he was the KING. The staff was all women in their cute uniforms. Each day they all wore matching uniforms. They were nice, for the most part but there was one who wasn’t as nice. In my memory she looks like X from Charlie’s Angels. Also in the waiting room on the walls they had framed prints of X art, which I still see around nowadays. Also, the chairs we sat in were bright yellow vinyl (this was the 70’s and early 80’s.) The chairs were lined up, maybe 5-6 of them, facing out toward large windows. The doctor would move quickly from chair to chair, working on patients. He was friendly but all business. The girls would do preliminary work and then he would come by and check my braces, doing adjustments, jerky my wires and brackets around until he was happy. Pretty much the same thing every week.

I remember the way the braces poked into the side of my mouth and wearing wax over them to smooth the edges. I remember wearing headgear. Never to school, thank