Category Archives: Write2Unpack

Today I’m anxious. My boys started school and I’m excited/anxious about that. I’m anxious about The Best Husband Ever and whether his legs will start working again with the cool weather. I’m anxious about finding the right person at work (we’re looking to hire a full-time family law legal assistant/paralegal). But mostly I’m mostly anxious because I have a dentist appointment. I’m scheduled for the regular cleaning, which always hurts me (it’s my teeth, not the dentist…), but also for a tooth repair.  I clench and grind my teeth and have ground a front one down a bit and cracked it.  It’s just a cosmetic repair at this point, and my dentist said I don’t even have to be numb for it, but just the thought of him drilling my teeth makes my anxiety double.

And so this morning, as I write to you before my dentist appointment, I’ve been preoccupied with anxiety. And so, this week’s topic found me.

When I started writing today’s post it originally started out to be about my anxiety, but then I thought, what about that guy? My dentist is The Best Dentist Ever.  He’s a delightful fellow who genuinely cares for his patients.  He chooses to work in a field where people are anxious – all the time.  He’s told me, “Mel, the dentist chair is the great equalizer. I don’t care if you’re a big tough guy or a young child. Everyone is the same when they’re in the dentist chair.”

Orin Scrivello D.D.S. “Little Shop of Horrors”

Now, I’m not into my dentist for anything more than relatively pain-free dental care, but there’s something sexy about a guy who holds the power to inflict pain on others but instead chooses to be kind and compassionate, and seeks to help his patients have less pain and, by default, less anxiety.  In addition to being a sexy profession (that’s right, dentistry can be sexy), there are other perks to being a dentist:

Flexible lifestyle.  My dentist works Monday – Thursday. This gives him the freedom to have a life outside the office and start running again (nudge, nudge).  What’s sexier than someone who has time to be there and do fun things?

Disease detection. There are several diseases that dentists can detect by regular examination, some of them biggies.  We had a wrongful death matter where a dentist actually detected an aggressive and extremely rare cancer in a young girl that her primary care doctor missed. He’s a superhero in my book – definitely sexy.

Service to others.  Not just for disease detection, dentists help people every day. They help people, even scaredy-cats like me, to have and maintain good dental health.  Good dental health has been linked to good overall health. Benevolence is sexy.

The first thing you must be aware of this characteristic, in order to play an active role probe viagra in romance and sex. There are some people who also call tadalafil for sale cheap it as impotence. Yes, the increasing discontent in married or dating couples can be pointed towards the fact that either one of them is not able to satisfy the other’s sexual purchase levitra needs. The pills help buy viagra mastercard have strong and long lasting erections during an intimacy. They bring joy and confidence. A beautiful smile brings joy. Dentists give people beautiful smiles and empower them by giving them the confidence to smile big and mean it. Confidence is sexy, and giving someone confidence is even sexier.

Dentistry combines art and science. There’s cutting edge technology in dentistry and, like for me today, there’s art in cosmetic repair. Artists are their own special brand of sexy.

That’s right. My dentist is a powerful, compassionate, sexy man with a flexible lifestyle, who chooses to serve others and bring them joy and confidence, while embracing art and technology.  What’s not to love?

So what’s my message to you this week? In addition to drawing attention to the dental profession, it’s that even dentists are sexy. They’re kind, compassionate, caring, and gentle. All good traits for someone to possess (especially if they have a metal hook in my mouth), but also especially good traits for someone to have in the bedroom.  So while I am extraordinarily anxious about dental visits, I still go.  I love my dentist and my hygenist. I trust they’ll do everything possible to help me, calm me, and make me beautiful and healthy. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go pee out a little fear and do some guilt-flossing before my appointment.

Update: Cleaning was great (Thanks Barb!), but the tooth repair turned into teeth repair and took longer than expected.  I firmly stand by my earlier thoughts about kindness and compassion from a position of power. Whether it’s the hygenist wielding the power, or the dentist, definitely sexy when you’re near someone so considerate and gentle.

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

School starts August 31^st. That’s next Wednesday. Today’s post was going to be about how it’s a man’s world and all the different things that speak to the patriarchal society we live in, but then I took my boys to school.  Today is the day they pick up their class schedules, pay sports fees, and have class pictures taken.

As we drove to the school, my boys chattered excitedly in the back of the car. They talked about teachers at the school and wondered who they were going to get, and would Aidan get into the high academy (translation: upper level math) for math class this year. This is Ahren’s first year in middle school so he’s a little nervous about having different teachers for different classes, having to change classrooms, and super excited about having a locker. We saw orchard workers heading to the next job, straddle carriers filled with apples, people pushing babies in strollers, dog-walkers, the occasional jogger, and of course, parents and children filled the school parking lot.  The kids all excited and bouncing around their parents, dressed for school photos, and pulling on their mom’s hand when she wasn’t walking quite fast enough to suit them.

It struck me that this is what I wanted to share with you: the energy of autumn.

Oh sure, seasons change every couple of months, but for me the transition from summer into fall has always been my favorite.  The light is harsher, the shadows are sharper, the air is crisper and there’s an undercurrent of energy.  I feel the urge to nest, to clean and clear out my home because I know soon the snow will come and we’ll be spending most of our time inside. To me this time of transition feels like I’ve made it through the hustle and bustle of summer, through the business of trying to spend every moment I can with my children and make the summer enjoyable and memorable for them while working full time, and now finally things will go back to routine. Back to school, and sports, and trying to take advantage of every beautiful day and evening before the weather becomes too harsh to be outside.

I love the fashion of fall – the sweaters and boots and leggings. I love the food of fall – the soups and squashes. I love fall mums and asters and the colors of the trees. I love the way the sunshines and creates sharper shadows.  I love it so much I wrote about fall in my (hopefully) soon to be published novel, The Between. My protagonist, Alex, is meeting with her counselor, Michael, and discussing one of the ways she “knows” things.

“Have you noticed how Autumn shadows are different than any other?  They’re so distinct, so crisp and clear.  Summer shadows are faded and fuzzy, the light is too strong everywhere to really give good lines.  Winter shadows are barely there, hardly enough light to give them life.  Spring shadows are just coming out, tentatively checking, making brief appearances, never lingering.  But Autumn shadows… Autumn shadows are ready to be seen.”

“They make the shapes that cut sharply against that which they are placed.  Distinct lines and shapes of shade.  Shapes of things caught between the light and shadow. The shadows not only press into the fabric of what they lay against, but pull the color from it.  I see it in the trees – fiery leaves on the limbs, but dark shadows making patterns on a building. Soon they’ll surrender and fall with the wind. I see it in the limbs after the leaves, the stark, naked lines projecting an often unseen and seemingly senseless net across a paved road. I see it in the slanted shadow of a fence post, rippled and punctuated by grass moving with the breeze. I see all this. It’s nature trying to help us, guide us, steer us.”

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Michael shifts in his chair, I think he’s more intrigued as his initial surprise subsides.

Sitting up I look at him. “I believe it is this ability that allows Nature to see both sides of us. To see the good and the bad, and all the million shades of grey that exists in between. To see us for who we are, what we want, and where we ‘should’ go.”

There’s an energy to fall that doesn’t exist at any other time. It’s my vibe and this week I invite you all to share it with me.  Be aware of the crispness of the air, the cozy foods, the warm sunlight and how it cuts shadows a little cleaner. Mostly I invite you to feel the energy of fall.  Stop a moment and close your eyes, quiet your mind and feel that undercurrent of energy and let it fill you.  To me it feels like a subtle energy designed to help us regroup and recharge, and emerge new again when it’s time.  Can you feel it too?

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

“It’s just a loose tooth! You’re 12! This is not the first tooth you’ve lost!”

Yes, that’s me being mom-of-the-year to my 12 year old. He has a loose baby tooth (a molar) and the permanent tooth is growing in over the top of it and pushing the baby tooth to the inside of his mouth. Now, to me, it’s simple: 1. The new tooth is coming in; 2. The baby tooth is loose; 3. The baby tooth needs to come out. To the 12 year old it’s not that simple… there was wailing, waving of hands, tears, and groaning – and that’s before he would even let me look at it.

That got me to thinking: why is it a bigger deal to him than I think is necessary? I mean, I have an intense dislike for any sort of mouth pain (years of braces and a one-time trip to a bad dentist have created that), but it’s just a baby tooth, right? Wrong. There’s something more primal, more instinctual, to losing a tooth. That’s how today’s post inspiration found me.

I did a quick Google search about the origin of the phrase, “like pulling teeth” and didn’t really get any solid answers. Oh, sure, there were old quotes that may have been the origin, but all the sites I found seemed to agree that “like pulling teeth” meant a process that is painful, difficult, and unwanted.

There are several dream interpretations for losing teeth:

Fear: Until late 20^th century/early 21^st century it was common to interpret a dream about losing teeth as a fear of losing a family member. More recently it’s changed to signify a fear of aging and the lack of control of one’s own aging process.

Anxiety: When people dream of losing teeth it can mean they’re anxious. According to some studies a dream about losing your teeth can indicate anxiety and lack of control over your circumstances.
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Personal Loss:  People often dream about losing teeth during times of transition such as having to face a situation where you have to make a difficult choice. The symbolism of losing teeth in a dream can serve to make you aware of something you’re giving up or feel like you’re losing in real life.

Change: A dream of losing teeth or a tooth can indicate that you feel like you are letting go of something important, or leaving something important behind.  Losing baby teeth is an outward and obvious signal that my son is changing from a child into a teen/young adult.

After sitting and thinking about it I realized even though I don’t share in my son’s fear and anxiety of losing his tooth, I understand it. Losing something, even when it’s causing you pain, is something we all resist.

Having come to that realization, The Best Husband and I have given him through the end of today to try and wiggle it out and then we’re taking him to the dentist. We’ll pay someone more than $100 to do what he, and we, should have been able to accomplish.  But there again real life and childhood trauma cross paths: sometimes we are lacking the right tools to help ourselves, and need to seek the expertise of someone trained to help us.

Whether you believe in the symbolism of dreams, or the reality of childhood fear, this week I ask that you simply be aware of other people’s feelings. Recognize that people may feel differently than you, but we all share the feelings of fear, anxiety, and loss.

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!