A Day in the Life

I showed up to school today to be told, "There are dentists using your classroom."

What the hell?

Turns out a local mobile dentist group was using my room yesterday, and had a few kids left over to see this morning. They were done just as my first class started, so I spent 2nd period in another classroom with my kids. A little bit of a pain in the keister, but whaddayagonnado?

I think it's very cool that there is free dental care for our kids--some of them don't get any dental care, and it is not uncommon for my kinders to have rotten teeth, metal teeth, etc. Dental health is part of overall health.

Anyway, during my prep period, I sat and worked on some stuff. I couldn't help overhearing the dentist and hygeinists talking. They were talking about one girl, who had braces on her teeth. According to the girl, the dentist would not take off the braces because her parents owed him money. Her gums are starting to grow OVER the brackets. OUCH!

Now, I'm thinking that is one big lawsuit waiting to happen, and no dentist with any integrity whatsoever (they take a Hippocratic oath, just like doctors) is going to let a little girl suffer because they're owed money, right?

It seems more likely that Mom and Dad didn't take her back to the dentist because they can't afford it and think the dentist won't help them. Which, my friends, is neglect. I don't know the little girl's name, teacher or even grade level. I hope the dental people reported this.

In other news, I took Millie and Harley to the V-E-T today. They weren't thrilled, but I'm glad to say that they are both in good health. Millie weighs 9.4 pounds. After last year's Christmastime fun with pancreatitis, it is wonderful to see her healthy and up in her weight. She has never weighed more than 10 pounds, and has always been a skinny little thing. Last winter, she was skin and bones. It was terrifying.

Harley, my "little" dude, is 13.1 pounds! The number didn't surprise me, but I'm happy to say that the vet thinks it's a good, normal weight for my stocky little boy. He says so long as Harley stays around this weight, it's all good. He has a big tummy (I call it his "tub"), but he's not really fat so much as he's just big. Big feet, big bones.

Both cats behaved beautifully. They really are sweet little furries. I'm a proud mom!

And that's my day. It's never dull around here (well, for me, anyway).