Awkward Moment

Ever had one of those moments in your life that is really awkward? Makes you and everyone else around you feel awkward? I recently had one of those. Come along with me for the ride...

I'm having quite a bit of dental work done. Long overdue dental work. Intense dental work. Saving my teeth. Making my mouth feel good. God love my dentist for recognizing I would be better off going to see a periodontist to have some work done before he crowns me.

Sidebar: I dislike dentists. I like them as people. I just don't like what they do. I respect it but I’ve got some deep rooted issues with dental work. The one I am seeing now has restored my faith in dentistry, which is a beautiful thing. And as long as I am in the area and he is too, he’s my man. Best part? He’s young enough for me to grow old with.

So off I go to the periodontist he referred me to. My visit is going good. I'm feeling ok with being there. Comfortable. Like I can do this. He's really jazzed about my gums. He loves my gums. He tells me I have perfect gums. If he could draw a set of perfect gums, he'd draw mine. Nice to know at least one thing is going right in my mouth because my poor damn teeth have been suffering.

Anyway, he tells me the surgery should go well and the healing will be no problem. Um ok. 1 week of real discomfort with pain pills to deal with the pain, ibuprofen a day before I come in for the procedure, stitches, putty, and a 4 week healing time... you bet your ass I'm apprehensive. I have to go through this twice people. Twice. I've got issues on both sides of my mouth. At least I am symmetrical he says. That's me. Balanced Mo.

Sidebar #2: Brush, floss, see the dentist regularly. I mean really brush. Don't just go through the motions. Floss daily. See the dentist every 6 months. It's bad enough I started off with weak enamel but then I go and neglect the cavities, don’t see a dentist for about three years, and bam. Here I sit talking about crown lengthening surgery before I even get crowned. Let’s not even start on the root canals or the fillings I’ve had in the last 10 months.

I’m a dentist’s dream these days. I’m probably paying for some expensive car, an upgrade to his house, a boat, trips, etc. Not only that but dude, I am brushing and flossing after every single meal. Drink a sugary drink? Swish with water and brush about 20 minutes later. It’s my version of OCD right now. But guess what? My mouth is happy and I have had no further issues.

Ok, I digress. Here’s where the awkward moment comes in. I’m making way to the receptionist desk to see how much these surgeries are going to cost and schedule the first tortuous appointment. In case you are wondering, it’s somewhere in the ballpark of $3000.00. I’m still waiting to hear my portion after the insurance kicks in.

I happen to be wearing a shirt with my company logo on it. Never fails. Every time I am wearing one of these shirts and the logo is visible, someone tells me their favorite product, a story, asks if I know so and so, etc. Don’t get me wrong. I love the company I work for. I know we wear these shirts for a reason and having these conversations with the public at large is one of those reasons we have these shirts. I wear mine proudly because I have mad pride in the company I work for. Those who know me in real life know this to be true.

What I wasn’t expecting to have happen is one of dentist B’s staff ask me if I knew R** H*****. My memory bank gets to rolling. Yep, I know him. I had to let him go a few years back for violation to company policy. She proceeds to tell me some mean lady fired him because of X, Y, Z.

Enter awkward moment. Mean lady huh? She’s right here. In front of you. It’s me. I’m the one who did him so wrong.

I felt I had no choice but to let her know mean lady was me. Come on. We all now how this works. She’s seen me. She has access to my file, which not only has my name but the company I work for, including my contact information and work address. She’s going to tell this person at some point about me. I’d rather claim it and own it now than have her look at me sideways next time I am in for not fessing up that I was the mean lady.

I’m glad I did it. Not firing the guy. Contrary to what some believe, I don’t get off on letting people go. I’m glad I fessed up. I wasn’t looking for an apology but she was spewing ‘em out faster than I could keep up with. I told her she had nothing to apologize for. She really didn’t. She’s entitled to her opinion. Seriously. She is.

Why am I glad I fessed up? Beside obvious reasons? The situation reiterated for me to be aware of what and how you say things, talk about others, what you put out there. You just never know.