Goodbye to August, dentists

t still amazes me just how quickly time flies by. It is almost September and I am not sure where the month of August has gone. Ending with earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding will make it particularly memorable to millions, but for us, closing on the farm and seeing Maggie and Aaron married will be the highpoints. Weather wise, I hope it signals the end of the oppressive heat and serious drought we are surviving here. Victoria also saw her best friend married and begin deputation for serving in Puerto Rico. Grant finally understood the intent of “potty training.” It was a good month for our family.


Mama scheduled appointments at the dentist for this morning. I had hoped to be out at 9:30 but it was almost an hour later so I had to reschedule one meeting and hurry to make another. Living an hour away has some disadvantages – but not very often. I like the fact that no one is waiting on me for relief so there is rarely a pressure to hurry to the office. I do have to catch up to all the things waiting on me but it is never overly stressful.

Mama found this dentist through the orthodontic group Victoria was finishing up her braces with. They are delightful people to work with and the dental group they recommended is the same caliber of people. It had been one year since we had had a teeth cleaning so we are not too far behind. I do like the finished product. I do not like the path to get there, but it is worth the ounce of prevention. The dentist did discover two little spots he wants to seal up but nothing major at this point.

In my herbal studies I did learn that the tissue of the gums is so close in characteristic to the tissue of the heart that a trained eye can only see the difference under a microscope; hence, the correlation between gum disease and heart problems. The health of your gums strongly affects the health of your heart so don’t put down the dental work you are doing, it could extend your life.

As dentists go this one is by far the youngest I have known. I realize all of them start there at the beginning of their career, but he is the most “beginning” I have known. Still, he seems very capable and he studied in Dallas, which is a question Mama always asks. She was told years ago that those dentists educated in the north have a very different style and philosophy of practice than those educated in the south. It has proven true with each relocation.

The hygienist was telling me about a trip she had recently taken with her husband to Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and on through Virginia to see the historic sights in that area. They are both natives of Amarillo. She said some of the winding tree-lined roads made her claustrophobic. The smell of the forest floor and the morning mist that hovers in patches over the hills was beautiful to her, but not necessarily inviting. She said she waited on the drives for those glimpses of open meadows and rolling hills, not so much for the picturesque view but rather so she could breath.

I guess a person would have to grow up here to appreciate that sense of unobstructed openness. Don’t get me wrong there is great beauty here – most of it does not include living things, but there is beauty. I guess it is a panoramic vista when you can see for forty miles in any direction when you are only twenty feet above grade, it just may not qualify as pristine.

We do love it here. We just need a thorough soaking. No offence to those of you who are now flooded.