Hang in there Baby

I took Tot to the dentist this morning. His appointment was at 8am which meant I had to wake up at an ungodly hour to get him there. We arrived a few minutes before 8 and had to wait to check in because they were having their morning staff meeting. 8:05 and we were still waiting. Why schedule 8am appointments if you're not going to even check people in before then? Make them 8:15 appointments and actually get going on time! I could have slept an extra fifteen minutes for cripes sake!

Now that all that is out of the way I can get to my actual point...

I remember going to the dentist as a kid. A lot! I was genetically doomed to bad teeth. Add to that a terrible Lik-m-aid habit and a tendency not to brush and it equals fillings in nearly every tooth. All those cavities meant plenty of hours in the chair. During those torturous visits to the dentist, reclined back in the chair of tortures I had one thing to amuse me.

After about the 8th filling or so, you could say this particular bit of amusement lost it's ability to amuse. Sure he's cute and all, but after awhile I started to imagine him falling. Sometimes he would plummet to his death. Other times he would leap ferociously down upon me and cause my death. When I was feeling especially fed up with the whole dental care thing, he would leap down and attack the dentist. He may look like a sweet ball of fluff, but in my imagination he was a kitty ninja!

Times have changed at the dentist office. No stupid "hang in there baby" posters for kids these days. Nope! Tot got to lay back and watch the Disney Channel on a tv in the ceiling. The kid next to him? He was playing Xbox on his screen in the sky. Five 19" screens installed in the ceiling with cable tv, dvd, and video game systems installed. All of it controlled from the computers that the hygienists used to pull up dental records, xrays and most likely contact NASA if they felt the urge.

Somehow I think I was better off with the ninja kitty.