T is sitting at the dining room table, reading his third grade text on Science, while I hang out in the rocking chair. M is watching “The Bourne Ultimatum” and N and S are playing with N’s new Indiana Jones legos set upstairs. The sun is down, of course, and the air is still cool (20F). The weather people are promising higher temperatures, in the upper forties, even, over the weekend. We could use a break from the cold.

Last night M, recovering from her MRI-induced sedation, was totally out of it, so she fell asleep early while T, S and I read on the first floor. They were off to sleep by 8:00PM and I was asleep by 8:30PM. Sometimes I wonder if the neighbors notice our lights are off by 9:00PM. Anyway, I woke by about two, read “Jane Eyre” for thirty minutes, and fell asleep again on the couch. N woke me after five. I thought I’d be up for good, but I fell back asleep until near eight. F from work called, right after I woke, and she and I talked through work issues until about nine. I couldn’t see much use in driving to work, when I was due at the dentist at 1:00PM, so I showered and revised a syllabus before lunch. N returned home and wanted to play, so he and I hung out upstairs until I left to run errands. I filled up the car ($2.99 a gallon), picked up and downed my dental penicillin, hit Blockbuster for films, and mailed two packages to Chicago. Maura wanted her movie so I swung home, dropped it off, and hit the dentist.

I need to take a minute to describe my death-obsessed dental hygienist. She’s older, probably sixty, and she will talk about the most depressing subjects imaginable while cleaning my teeth. Plus, I’m sort of vulnerable, you know, with sharp implements jammed into my mouth, so I can’t exactly protest. Today I tried, and mostly succeeded, in keeping her off accidents, death, and tragedy. Instead, I steered her into discussing:

A) Her trip to New York over the holidays. She saw “Wicked” for $110 dollars.
B) The new hospital going up in her town and various real-estate related subjects.
C) How to get snow off of roofs.

I say I was mostly successful because she did bring up the huge teenage accident from a few weeks back, but I was able to change the subject quickly. Whew. My very cool dentist rescued me. I was out of the office within forty-five minutes of my arrival. My long-standing wisdom teeth issue looms, so I might get them removed this spring. I’ve run out of excuses.

Ok, looks like we’re eating dinner. More later.