From the mountains, to the valley, to the ocean - white with foam

My head still ached. I think the pain was less from the actual tooth and more from the mental anguish associated with the whole ordeal. Headache or not, we took advantage of the day and we headed to the beach. The weather was perfect, the water was unusually calm and the kids were ecstatic.

But let me back up. It started with a pretzel. The flat ones. Have you seen them? Have you had them? I love them. They are the perfect delivery device for cheese or salsa or really pretty much anything. I used to love them, that is. That love affair ended on Thursday at 4PM. You see Thursday at 4PM I shoved one into my mouth and heard a sharp, piercing crack. It sent a shiver up my spine. I knew immediately what it was and my heart was filled with dread. I had broken a tooth. I was too anxious to move my mouth, irrationally hoping if I clenched my teeth tightly together maybe the tooth would rebind to itself.

Seriously people, I was devastated. I am one of those people who has dreams about their teeth falling out. My grandmother told me over and over and over and over and over again to “take care of your teeth.” And, while this may be hard to believe now that you have read the previous paragraphs, I really have. I feverish flipped through the white pages searching for ANY dentist who could help me, keeping in mind it was now 4:30 on Friday in Southampton….no one was around.

The good news is, I found a dentist, he saw me Saturday morning, I think I freaked him out with my anxiety about the tooth, he “fixed” my tooth, the end. Except, I keep reliving that cracking moment and it seems like I am clenching my teeth even more now.

Cut back to the beach….ah, the relaxing sound of the waves crashing. Except my tongue keeps running over that tooth. It’s like when you bite your cheek and your tongue just can’t leave it alone.

And then I take the girls for a pre-dinner walk around the block. Southampton has amazing beaches, a great town, lots of good restaurants, but one of my favorites things to do is....walk around the block. The morning and evening air is crisp, the walk is flat, the houses are gorgeous, the cars are few. And with each step, my worries about the tooth grow fainter and fainter.