The Dentist and Pay It Forward

Yesterday Alynna had her first cavity filled.

She seemed undaunted by the very upsetting news that her first adult tooth was already infected with the dreaded decay, so I was upset for the both of us. She was undaunted, it seems, until I parked in front of the dentist office yesterday. I was already ten minutes late, so I was "encouraging" children to get out of the car quickly, but that little girl of mine just sat there, glued to her seat. It took a bit of "encouragement" to get her to unbuckle and hurry herself from the car.

The fear of the unknown came upon Alynna and she sulked and threw herself around the office until it was her turn to face her fate. The nurse called her name and I could hear Alynna's squeaky voice answering questions as she walked to the back of the small dentist office. The rest of us pushed through schoolwork.

Within ten minutes of her departure I heard a muffled cry of pain! But no one came asking me to save the day or stroke her sweaty forehead or tell her this was what happened when little girls didn't brush their teeth, so we continued with pushing our way through Math. That in itself was taxing, seeing as how Nathan does not work well when his "classroom" of the dining room table is taken away and moves to the outside world.

Time passed slowly.

Then an angry scream, "Ow!" echoed it's way through the waiting room. I jumped! The receptionist smiled and assured me Alynna was fine. "She has a good set of lungs on her," she laughed.

Ten minutes time and Alynna bounced into the waiting room with a smile, two sugar-free lollipops, and two plastic toys. Why they reward children for having cavities, I have no idea, but hey, after being yelled at twice, maybe the dentist would have given her the birthright just to get out of his office.

Once in the car we headed to the beloved library where resources are free and tables are quiet and school could get finished. But not before I fixed my stomach rumblings with a croissant and iced coffee from the nearest drive-thru Starbucks!

When it was my turn to pay I handed my money to the attendant, but he shook his head, and told me the car in front of me had already paid for my coffee and the two cars behind me!

I told the children of the generous act so they be reminded, and perhaps inspired, by the generosity we are to embrace.

Kaeley said, "When I get a car, I'm going to do that, too!"

Nathan said, "Me too! I'm going to do it all the time!"

Alynna said, "I want to be a dentist!"