Blue sky rising…

It’s official. I’m an idiot.  Or I have Alzheimers. One of the two.

I guess I should explain.  Because Lord knows, it’s been quite a day.

I have been suffering from toothache for a few weeks – and with being three hours drive from our regular dentist (and unable to get in to see them on my last two visits there), and with weaning and parties and exhibitions to organise,  getting it seen to is something I have put off.  Silly me.

I have also had a touch of Man Flu/Bronchitis for a bit over a week.  Hacking and coughing day and night.  So add up big lack of decent sleep, fuzzy sick headedness, staying up too late last night to watch The Voice final,  and whatever forgetfulness I bring with me naturally (i.e. plenty) I arrived this morning just two minutes late for my dental appointment after a 90 minute drive from home.  As I rushed into the surgery area I had a terrible sense of foreboding… my handbag was WAY too light.  Looking in it frantically I realised… my purse wasn’t there.

Think about it.  No money, no credit cards, no medical cards, no insurance cards… no ID.  At a dentist 140km from home, that I had never been to before.

After standing there like a stunned mullet, I turned pleading eyes toward the receptionist.  After an astonished look and quick enquiry (‘why don’t you pop home and grab it then?’)  I fully explained my situation (280km round trip worth of it) and she relented and made me promise to pay via credit card when I got home.  I know.  Thank GOD for country towns.  Apparently I have an honest (and no doubt pathetic, pleading) face.

I also realised as I waited that I had left it too late to place an order for vaccine for our weaners.  Despite a hurried phone call involving more pleading, the government official refused to relent and send our vaccine early, sticking with protocol and making us wait til Friday.  Apparently my pathetic, pleading face needs to be up close and in person to have any effect.  It hit me that my memory lapse would totally wreak havoc with our plans for this week, costing us in time and feed for our weaners.  A very sinking feeling, and not a fun phone call to make to one hard-working husband.

To really add to my day, the lovely dentist (a small, pretty Asian lady with a soft voice and wonderful chairside manner) then examined my aching mouth and broke the news that not only was a filling missing from my teeth, but a big cavity had appeared in another tooth and she would need to do TWO fillings.  I usually refuse anasthetic of any kind for fillings, but after almost hitting the ceiling with a blast of air onto the affected area, I gave in.

Twenty minutes later, with only a few coughing-induced breaks, I was done.  My teeth were fixed and my bottom lip felt like it was literally dragging on the ground… MAN I detest that feeling.

Making the (quite easy) decision to begin driving immediately – somehow one doesn’t feel terribly social with an out-of-control lip and the potential of drool sliding down one’s chin without notice – I ignored my hunger pangs and headed home. Via a smaller town where I have an account, so I could at least get groceries to help make the trip worthwhile.  I hope the local checkout girls don’t think I was being rude, but I managed to keep conversation to a minimum and spoke only while holding my hand over the right side of my mouth (ensuring that bottom lip returned to the closed position and chin remained dribble-free).

I was having a proper wallow in my Day of Stupidity when I finally had a proper look out the driver’s side window of the Land Cruiser.

Holy smoke.

Like Mother Nature saying… LISTEN UP GIRLFRIEND!

‘So, your face feels like rubber, your plans for your day and your week got turned upside down…

‘ Life’s like that, my dear.

‘Get a little perspective and GET A GRIP. 

‘TOUGHEN UP PRINCESS!’

And by the time I got home (about three hours earlier than scheduled, thanks to lack of funds) I was feeling a little better.

A clear, spectacular winter sky, shining down.

Happy animals grazing on the ground.

My lower face now feels like it belongs to me.  I ate without spilling (any more than normal).  I can catch up on sleep (and hopefully my short-term memory skills will return).    I look on today as a money-saving exercise.  We began rescheduling our week.

(I still bless the government department that won’t bend it’s rules for desperate farming housewives though.)

So I will make coffee (much cheaper than in town), put a load of washing on, organise my bills and get ready to feed a yard full of weaners.

And I will look up.  And try very hard to keep things in perspective, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Question for you: How do you overcome your Down in the Dumps moods?