A Day Off That's Crowded Enough For Two Days - Dental Thoughts

Today is my one day off this week, and of course it's packed with grocery shopping, housecleaning, laundry and other assorted things that are mandatory in my life. Tomorrow, Chickie will be taking Thursday and Friday off, accompanying her mother to Mayo Clinic for an outpatient surgery. Her Dad will actually drive down and join them in Rochester for a late dinner tonight since Chickie does work today and can't leave for the Clinic until after she's off work. (Her Dad never drives any more, so I'm rather grateful he's heading south and we won't intersect in any fashion on the roadway.) 

The Mayo Clinic has come a long way since the two 
Mayo Brothers set up their medical practice in a 
small building in Rochester. The campus is huge 
now, and consists of two separate hospitals and numerous 
research and laboratory buildings. It employs 35,000 
people in the Rochester campus and has other campus 
locations throughout the USA. 

It'll be a busy two days for her, although she'll be in a single location. Mayo clinic is a sprawling complex of two hospitals and numerous support buildings and smaller clinics. I've never been there, but I haven't had a need to go there (knock on wood that continues). Of course, this week also had Monday as a holiday, so in essence I will have gotten my two days off work during the work week, but it just feels a bit different when the schedule is this messed up. Still, I'll manage, and DH will also manage - although the shift in schedule will drive us a little crazy - LOL. 

The lanes aren't that wide, and sharing with three guys 
was challenging, but I listen to my audio book and swim 
my distance. Always a mile, sometimes a few laps 
more. If they don't mind sharing with me, I don't mind 
sharing with them. Sometimes I'm lucky and I get a lane 
to myself for my entire swim. On Wednesdays we get 
the "Three Amigos" - three guys I've been swimming 
next to for years. We'll see what lane they claim today. 

Yesterday I ended up sharing my lane with three guys. Of course, all of them swam faster than I (it doesn't take a lot for that - I'm an endurance swimmer not a speed swimmer). I always warn them, when they ask to join my lane, that I'm going to be slower, but so far it's seemed to work out, even with that many. I think the guys were getting in their own way much more than into mine. 

Dr DeVoe may not be the orthodontist I end up 
with, but I want to check him out. He's using 
the technique I would prefer, and he's not too 
horribly far away from me. Still, getting my 
teeth straightened will be a VERY expensive 
thing and I want to choose my treatment very 
carefully. Thus, interviewing the three possibilities 
I narrowed down is essential. I'll ask my Dentist 
for any specific recommendations too when I 
see him or her on Monday. 

I tried to phone the Orthodontist I wanted to schedule a consultation with yesterday, but their office is closed until tomorrow, so I'll have to try again on Thursday. I have three different orthodontists on my list, but this one uses the technique I think I would rather use, so I'll have to see. I actually see my own dentist on Monday for my semi-annual clean and check, and I can double-check with her (or him) then. I'm not sure which of the two dentists I'll actually see - Dr Bernie, my long-time dentist whom I adore, or Dr Phan, my newer dentist who is quickly becoming someone whose opinions I trust. It's always a good thing when you can trust your medical professionals. 

Dr B is a fabulous dentist and I was very lucky 
to find him more than 20 years ago. We've 
aged together and we're both very close 
to retirement. We're both old hippies, so have 
a lot in common. He's consistently rated in 
the top three dentists in the cities, which 
is also pretty great. I like Dr Phan, his 
associate too. Her personal service and dedication 
are outstanding. She even called me while she 
was on vacation when my tooth broke, to 
see if it was something that needed immediate 
care, or if it would wait until she returned to 
town. (I waited until she returned to town.)

On that note, I'm out of here. Time to get going, get a load of laundry washing, and then head over to the swimming pool. Hopefully we won't have the deep fog we had yesterday morning - it makes finding the route more difficult through the road construction near the YMCA. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow.