Cathy Commiserations by Cathy Guisewite for March 19, 2021

Sounds about right…

701. Back to dentist for root canal because of neglect

That is so true!

I have a cousin who is a dentist. She has a practice in Auckland. She had a shut down and reopened in May of 2020. Oh, that’s right, she lives in a civilised country.

You’d like my dentist. He’d go at the top of my list. Just bring a large roll of bills. He likes that.

When you are gray, you can say and do anything you want and get away with it.

I broke a crown a few months ago. Dentist suddenly became urgent.

Doing the normal things is at the top of all our lists. (Mine includes a coffee and bagel in the sunshine in the park. Unfortunately, my favorite coffee shop closed.)

You found my list?

I think your priorities are backward. I expect annual physical is #699.

People not finding out about/not properly treating/not following up on health problem is going to be a terrible long-term consequence of the measures that have been taken.

Haven’t been to a dentist in 18 months to two years? That’s three to four oral cancer screenings that have been missed- and the potential of cancer spreading and progressing. Oral and gum issues have been linked to heart disease. Cavities going untreated of course is the most obvious and can lead to tooth loss and decay- and tooth loss generally leads to more tooth loss down the line as the whole mouth-system shifts and looses integrity, which can cause the bone to begin to break down.

And that’s just a few examples of dental health. How many mammograms have been missed? How many EKGs not done? How many annual check-ups where you mention, oh and I’m sure it’s nothing but as long as I’m here I might as well mention _____? Physical therapy that could have helped, but now it’s to the point of surgery?

Don’t get me STARTED on mental health and the exponential rise in teen and child depression and suicides…

All this to say that there are going to be repercussions from this past year. And maybe I’ve just gotten to the point where THIS kind of commentary isn’t funny anymore.

My hope is that in a few months, the gym I belong to will reopen their locker facilities and showers. And (now that I would have had both vaccine shots), I can then return. I am also looking forward to attending my church services in person and ultimately have them resume Coffee Hour and Sunday Lunch (I clean up after those events). I am really looking forward to resuming my errand/pet-sitting business once people start going away again. Finally, I would love to go somewhere, either in the fall or next spring. That is my bucket list.

This is so my list! Thanks to professional online tutorials, I have learned to cut my thick, layered curly hair and it actually looks good, but I won’t try anything more than the temporary color my stylist gave me. Curly hair can be difficult to color, even for professionals. Not that I, um, need my hair colored, of course. Nope, not me! ;)

Yup—important to prioritize in life. Cathy might want to rethink her ordering, but I have to say I’d lean the same way if possible … Not that simple, though.

This was my order too…but I just did the haircut and then the dentist.