Went to a new dentist Tuesday afternoon to have an upper tooth in the back extracted. This tooth was named #14. Believe it or not, this is the FIRST time I have had any dental procedure done without receiving gas. My regular dentist gives it to me routinely, even for cleanings, because it’s what I want and he obliges. I love the legal high. What can I say? There’s a little residue left in me from the old days that likes that sensation. Plus I hate needles and sharp objects in my mouth. It relaxes me. Aaaahhhhhh.

In 15 minutes the oral surgeon numbed my gum, extracted the tooth (an old root canal gone bad), gave me a bone graft (in case I want a crown down the road), and gave me stitches. I held on tight to the arm rest, tense, even though I only felt pressure, but no pain.
$200 for the extraction and $400 for the bone graft. That was fast money from me to him. I should have been an oral surgeon. Ya think?

I sat in my car in the parking lot thirty minutes relaying my experience to my mother on the phone and then Facebook and Twitter. I love sharing with my social media folks. I kept looking at myself in the mirror because my jaw felt inflated and of course one side of my face and lips were numb. Finally, the numbness has worn off and I could feel real pain. I drove to Walgreen’s to get the prescriptions filled for antibiotics and pain pills, anxious for relief.

Pain makes me think of Jesus being beat, whipped, tortured, humiliated, walking to His death with a cross, bleeding every step of the way. Then His hands and feet were nailed to the cross and the cross was placed upright in the ground. We can never forget the cross. Forgive me, Lord. You experienced unimaginable pain. You had no relief. You did that for us. Thank You, Jesus. What I felt was absolutely nothing. Nothing compares to You sacrificing Your life for us because You loved us.  Nothing.