Yesterday, I happened to glance down at Skip while he had his finger in his nose. He said to me, “Burger…(booger).” I laughed and commented, “That’s nasty.” Then he said to me, “Mom, dare (they’re) not nasty. You should try one.” No shame, I tell ya. The boy’s got no shame.
Just out of curiosity–how long is too long to spend brushing your teeth? The other night as I was flossing, I commented to Brian how glad I was that after so many years of flossing after I brushed my teeth, he had suggested I do it before brushing. Totally changed my life. He then said, “Yeah, and I think you brush too hard and for too long as well.” I’ll spare you the ridiculous boring details, but suffice it to say, I totally got my feelings hurt. I feel like for years now (after having learned that hard brushing was the cause of my receding gums), I’ve made a concerted effort to softly brush my teeth. Aaaannnddd—brushing too long? Is that even possible? I don’t know. I just thought I was being thorough, and all along Brian has just been thinking critically of my brushing habits.
I think I’m just particularly sensitive to all things mouth related because of the breath issues I’ve told you about. Come to think about it, I’ve had mouth and teeth issues my whole life. In like first or second grade, I specifically remember recognizing that Jamie Mueller had the big humps in her upper lip that make a woman beautiful and I had hardly more than a straight line for my top lip—almost no lips at all, for that matter. And that’s saying nothing of the cold sores and cracks that have plagued my lips my whole life. Add to that the fact that I have had gapped teeth, then missing teeth, then false teeth, then receding gums and bad breath…. Seriously? Could it get any worse? Answer: Yes. Next week I’m getting at least one root canal. (But guess what? When I called my dentist to schedule a root canal, he recommended I go on antibiotics. He said doing so would help with my pain, but also that it would kill the infection. Until then, it had never occurred to me that need for a root canal denotes an infection. So then it occurred to me that maybe having an infection in my mouth for some time has had something to do with my bad breath?! Could that be?! I’m going to ask Brian tonight if he’s noticed a change in my breath since I finished the antibiotics. Crossing my fingers (and popping in some gum)……
P.S. You know what else totally hurts my feelings? Selfies.