seeing the glory of God in the ordinary things of life
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teeth cleaned

by richard

I had a dental checkup today. Xrays and cleaning and all that rot.

While waiting for the doctor to come in and look me over, the hygienist decided to make small talk. When she discovered I have three young girls, she first asked me what kind of depression medication I’m taking. Then she went on and on about how boys are so much better than girls, and if she could have chosen, she would have had four boys instead of two of each. This went on for like five minutes. I was on the verge of asking her if she thought it was encouraging of her to tell me all this. But I knew she was going to be sticking things in my mouth, and I didn’t want her to ‘accidentally’ do something wrong. So I just sat there. No nodding, no smiling. Just sitting.

Then she asked how long I’ve been married, and though she surprised me by not commenting about having three children in under five years, she did castigate me for having a wedding so close to Christmas. She said it was selfish, and people have presents to buy for other people at that time of year.

Ah… what a pleasant conversation!

3 comments

1 megan { 10.05.05 at 1343 }

sooooo…that was fun!
Wish I could have been there!
:no:

2 Matt Winckler { 10.05.05 at 1635 }

I abhor small-talk like that. Seems like people somehow assume that it’s a universal truth that children are always a hassle, undesirable, and more often than not a mistake. (“You do know what causes that, right?”) I always have a tough time deciding how to respond to people who are brashly making offensive (to me) small talk such as this. Typically it’s the stony silence you described, but sometimes I wonder if they don’t just need someone to tell them, “Actually, you’re completely wrong and off base, and what you’re saying offends both me and God.” To date, I don’t think I’ve yet seriously tried that (or a similar) approach. I’m not sure if that’s wise or not. (Besides that, I’m usually too slow to think up good replies on the spot, so I get caught flat-footed and debate becomes moot.)

3 Kevin { 10.06.05 at 0903 }

I’d say the most gracious way to answer is to say something like, “It can be difficult at times, but they are such a wonderful blessing!” I think sometimes people say things because they hear other people say them and they don’t really mean it. I bet most of the time, people will agree that kids are indeed a blessing. I tend to tell people that I’m trying to enjoy every phase of my kids lives before they get beyond that phase. What a joy it is to be a father! :-)

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