Rooted

in the dentist's chair

I had time to contemplate on the morning while sitting in the dentist's chair at 9:30 waiting for the last stage of my root canal. It had been a whirlwind of activity for me and my husband, Rob: garbage day AND recycling day, pets to feed and medicate and clean up after, ourselves to feed and clean and prepare for the day--I had my dental appointment and my husband discovered that today--this morning!--was the funeral and celebration of life for a longtime friend of his. Rob's ex-wife had called with the details. Now he needed his suit and to be out the door at the same time as me so I had to bring in the pets from outside. Phew! We kept bumping into each other (literally!) as we scurried from activity to activity. Somehow we kept our senses of humour. I think that can be the strongest part of our marriage! In the middle of the chaos we had the following conversation:

Me (checking my teeth in the bathroom mirror) : I don't remember you telling me that he had died. 

Rob (collecting the garbage from all the rooms in the house): I did. He died on my birthday. Remember I was trying to find the funeral information and couldn't?

Me (tossing an asprin in with the dog's food) : Ah yes. I remember now. (then measuring the insulin into the syringe for our cat's shot) You must have known him a long time. A restaurant friend? (I had never met him even though Rob and I have been together for 18 years. Rob doesn't keep in regular touch with many of the people from his younger days or that his parents knew, often Chinese food restaurant owners or workers,)

Rob (clattering plates in the cupboard): Yes. Look. This is what Ming Lee taught me.

I turned to look. Rob balanced three dinner plates up his right arm and carried one in his right hand. He looked like a circus act. I envisioned them filled with noodles, rice and chicken balls.

Me: That's quite a feat.

Rob (pausing for a moment, lost in a memory): It was. I wanted to be able to do that so badly. He taught me.

Then the chaos of the morning began again. We left each other with a hug and a kiss.

The dental assistant told me that I wouldn't need to have freezing for this final stage of the root canal and that it would only take a few minutes. Yay! But while waiting for the dentist, I had time to reflect. It made me think of the weft and warp of our lives, how even the little everyday things all interweave to create the fabric of our lives.  These moments root us, help keep us grounded.

We will never have another morning exactly like this even though overall it seemed quite ordinary. Such is the beauty of life.

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