No, I'm not really in Seattle. Nor am I toothless, for that matter. My boss has always had the habit of putting "less in Seattle" behind different words, and when you spend 40 hours a week with someone for 15 years, they sort of rub off on you.
So you see, exactly two weeks ago tomorrow (Sunday), I had just gotten home from a Sunday evening church service and I was very, very hungry. I grabbed a bag of FIT popcorn and started munching. Apparently, I munched right down on a kernel and cracked my tooth. The moment I bit into that kernel, I heard and felt the crack. I just knew that I was headed to the dentist the next day and would most likely be getting a crown & if I was really lucky, a root canal. It had only been 24 hours since I was combing lice out of my hair and I couldn't help but roll on the floor laughing. I mean, why not laugh? There are real problems in the world...these were just annoyances.
The next day I made an appointment and saw my dentist, Dr. Phillips. The funny thing about my dentist is that I've been going to him ever since I was old enough to have a dentist. He's clearly in his mid-70's now and he's still my dentist. Several years ago, I broke my back molar chewing on a pen and had to get a root canal and a crown. He gave me instructions on what to do if he DIED during the month I had to wait to get my permanent crown! Anyway.....so I went to see Dr. Phillips and he insisted on pushing on my cracked tooth. I kicked that chair so hard he said he thought I was going to fly right out of it. Long story short, he said, "It's bad". I said, "Root Canal?" He said, "No. We can't save your tooth". Then he informed me that I would be referred to an oral surgeon where they would put me to sleep, take out my tooth, probably do a bone graft, and then drill an implant in my jaw. He said that I would have to go without a tooth for at least 3 months!!! I tried to hold back the tears but I was scared. I'd never been "knocked out" before.
The next day I visited the oral surgeon. The nurse took me back to the consultation room where I cried. The doctor came in and I cried some more. Then he pushed on my tooth and I nearly shot out of the chair again. That night I went to my eGroup Bible study where I cried some more. I cried because I was finally going to face one of the biggest phobias of my life....being (out of "control") put to sleep.
In the meantime, I read an article about how someone had discovered that trying to calm yourself down was useless. They ran studies and found that if you try to calm yourself down, your body interprets that as some sort of threat. However, if you tell yourself that you are excited, your body will believe it because anxiety basically feels the same as excitement.
Here's where it gets interesting. I tried it and it works!!!! I faced one of the greatest phobias of my life and I was just fine!!! I kept telling myself that I was excited. I downloaded TobyMac's new release called "Feel It" and I pumped myself up by playing it nonstop while I was in the waiting room. When the nurse called me back, I told her I was excited. When the doctor came in, I told him I was excited. The doctor even sang "I'm So Excited" by the Pointer Sisters to me. The next thing I knew...I was on my way home.
Unfortunately I wasn't thinking to clearly and I texted this picture to my boss...
And if you want to get "excited" and pumped up to face your next fear... (The video takes about 30 seconds before it gets FUNKY.)
