Things You Never Want to Hear Your Dentist Say...

So lately I've been undergoing some medical treatments here in Turkey.  I had minor knee surgery a few weeks back (almost all normal now... yah!!) and just as that healing process was beginning, I found that I needed to have a root canal on one of my bottom teeth.  Now, I'm not a fan of dentists on the best of days (sorry dentist friends) but generally I can suck it up and deal with it.  However the pain in my mouth was atrocious and a root canal is not a pleasant experience (so I had been told).  But since the pain was so bad, I knew I could no longer avoid testing the dental system here in Turkey.
I went to the main campus health centre dentist (I'm working at a school that is part of a university here in Ankara) on the recommendation of a co-worker (both for price and for good work).  I was nervous on the first visit and the pain was beyond belief... in fact, for the first time in my life I all out cried in the dentist chair (I gave the dentist fair warning that it might happen).  I also didn't know that there would be multiple appointments for this procedure (today was the 4th of possibly 5 if I'm lucky... please cross fingers, toes and whatever you can that I am lucky).
Long story short, it's been a lengthy process and the pain was excruciating at the beginning.  The last two appointments have been better and better but today I heard him say something I'm pretty sure I NEVER want to hear a dentist say as my mouth is wide open and he is digging around in my tooth: "What's that?  What's that little creature?"  UH..... WHAT?!?!?!?!?! CREATURE?!?!?!?!?!  I nearly bolted out of the chair!  He smiled and said there was a little bug and showed it to me... I nearly flipped out and asked where it came from and he said it was on my sweater and it flew to the dentist tray... so no, not out of my mouth, THANK GOD!!  But he then proceeded to tell me that once when he was in the army he had to check a soldier's tooth and was trying to clean out the cavity when he struggled to get something out of it... that later turned out to be a SPIDER!!!!!!!  Yes, you read correctly, the man had a spider in his tooth!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!! Worst nightmare ever, can you imagine!??! 
Anyway, you can add that phrase: "What's that? What's that little creature?" to the list of things you'd never want  to hear your dentist say to you...

Canim Annem... Mother's Day

Just like in a multitude of countries, Turkey celebrates their mothers with a special day and it just happens to be the same day as Canada and the US.  It's the second Sunday in May.  I always try to send my mom flowers or a little something on the day or as close to the day as possible so that I can be sure she knows how much love and appreciate her impact on my life and the gift that she is to me.  This year I got to send flowers to my grandmother as well as she is visiting my parents house for a few weeks. 
One thing that makes this year different for me is that I was recognized.  I'm single, unmarried and without any children of my own.  Sure, I have a classroom full of babies (that's what I call my classes) that I love like they were my own, but it's just not quite the same and I've never even thought about it before.  Until this year when a few of my students gave me gifts with tags and cards that said, "Happy Mother's Day!"  One of the parents even brought it in and said that they appreciated that my teaching partner and I were like parents while their child was at school.  It sure felt nice.
It also got me to thinking (well, that and what my mom said in response to my facebook post about it) that Mother's Day isn't just about the woman who gave birth to you physically.  It's about all the women who helped to give birth to the person you are right now.  And I'm so humbled to know that I've had a lot of lovely people in my life who have made me into the woman I am now and I'm so grateful for each and everyone of them (most of all to my mother who did more than give me physical life, she gave me a strength that few have and more gifts than I can begin to share in just a few words).  So thank you, ladies who have helped to form me and Happy Mother's Day canim annemler (Turkish for dear mothers).