Robby Rambacher
You don’t always know when an event takes place, that it is going to be one of the most talked about events of your entire life. My Dad and I were waiting in the oral surgeon’s office today and he was talking about a book where people describe their entire lives using only six words. I’m not saying these next six words describe my life but I think I have said them more than I have said any other words: Robby Rambacher ran into me. yeah. *shrug
WARNING: This blog may contain sarcasm and a bit of whininess. I know I am truly blessed and a tooth is just a small thing.
This is me..the brownie. Life was pretty good back then. I had lost a few teeth and my new front tooth was growing in. A new tooth was certainly going to catch my crush Josh Click’s eye. I couldn’t wait to see the finished product but something happened that made seeing all my grown up teeth only a dream. Something I would never know or understand. What happened you ask? Sit back, relax and let me tell you a story.
When I was in the first grade, I was playing a nice, friendly game of tag in the church gymnasium. I’m not sure if I wasn’t watching where I was going or Robby Rambacher wasn’t watching or both. All I know is that my tooth hit Robby’s new glasses and broke. So from before I even had my entire front tooth, It was broken. I had a cap on my tooth (that broke several times) for about twenty years until my tooth turned brown and I looked like a pirate. Aargh! So I saved up all my money, threw away my eye patch and bought myself my very own tooth. Hip Hip Hooray. A year after buying myself a beautiful tooth however, it started to hurt, my gum turned purple and I got an infection in my mouth. I went to a root canal specialist thinking that was the problem only for him to show me this x-ray.
This was my tooth. The root was disintegrating due to childhood trauma or as I like to call it a game of tag that went terribly, terribly wrong. The only option, have it removed. It was starting to hurt so bad that having it removed seemed lovely. I could take out my flipper tooth..it would be a great party trick, right? All until the day I had it removed and couldn’t control my weeping. Teeth don’t just grow back, ya know! How am I going to move to a new city and make friends while wearing dentures? How do I eat with dentures? How do I kiss a boy? These were all very important questions. So when my self-esteem went in the toilet, my online shopping therapy began. You see, getting an implant is a ridiculously long process. First, you have to get a flipper tooth (or a tooth on a retainer) made by one dentist, then you have to get your tooth pulled out by an oral surgeon, then you move to a new city (this step is optional), then you wait two months for your gum to heal, then you have to find an oral surgeon to put in your implant (or screw that is moonlighting as your old tooth root), then you have to wait three months for that to heal, then you find another dentist to make you a crown and THEN THEY PUT THE CROWN ON THE IMPLANT AND YOU ARE DONE!
I had the implant put in today so I’m half way done. It wasn’t so bad. The only problem is they did a lot of work and graphing on the roof of my mouth so now my flipper tooth no longer fits and falls out when I talk. So self-esteem back in the toilet and online shopping back on. It’s a shame all I can do is put items in my shopping cart and then log out. I would have preferred going on an exotic trip rather than buying something God gave me for free. Glass half full, glass half full.
At least I’m not alone.
Note: No names were changed for this post and no hard feeling for Robby Rambacher. He was actually a really sweet first grader.
Note number 2: If you would like to donate to my online shopping therapy, let me know. Just kidding.
How To Make Friends in Your Thirties
I haven’t posted anything in awhile. Mainly because a lot has been going on. After nine years of living in Louisville, KY, I needed a change. I quit my teaching job and headed to Nashville. I’ve been here a week and I’ve been thinking about a few things. How am I going to make friends? It was pretty easy to make friends in college. You just walked into the dorm bathroom and come out with a new friend. It was pretty easy to make friends after college. You just go to a church group or party and leave with a group of friends. What about now? I am in my thirties (very early thirties. very early). Is making friends going to be as easy? I have a few ideas and I’ll let you know how they are going so far.
Church:
I’ve always found church to be a great way to meet new people. At this point in my life however most of my peers have moved on to the next stage in their own lives and would see me as more of a baby sitter/friend. It may be a little trickier to meet people in their thirties and single. Good thing churches have just the place for us losers..um..I mean single people to go and hang out with weirdos..I mean other single people. Life groups. I haven’t tried any yet but it’s on my “make new friends to-do list”. I’ll let you know how it goes. My one fear is that these singles life groups can often seem like meat/meet markets. I am after all looking for friends that are girls as well as a guy that is going to sweep me off my feet.
Piggy Back Friends:
Even though I just moved to Nashville, I have a handful of friends/acquaintances here already. A great way to make new friends is to get to know your friend’s friends. I’m a firm believer in the idea that everyone has room for new friends and if that is in fact true, surely I can weasel my way into some group of friends here in the music city.
BEWARE! Not everyone wants a new friend to weasel into their group. You can put the extra work into cracking the code of that particular friend group if you want. After all, people that are protective of their friends are most likely loyal OR move onto another group of people. Making friends should not be like breaking into Fort Knox.
Online Dating:
Let’s be honest, dating isn’t what it use to be. Remember college when everyone was available and you had a new crush each week? Those were great times but THEY ARE OVER. Being a school teacher is basically the same as being in a female prison. I did not run into single man over the age of 9. Ever! So I did it. I tried online dating and I’ve actually met some cool people. It’s not like To Catch A Predator. You can spot and weed out the weirdos pretty quickly. The greatest thing about it is that you can see new places in the city and if you are with a gentlemen..see them for free. You might not meet your soul mate (you may) but you can have new experiences with new people and even make some friends.
Be A Joiner:
You know how you can tell someone has just gotten out of a relationship? All the sudden on facebook and twitter you get posts that they are eating here, hanging out with them or pictures of them doing that! It’s probably why some people remain single because it can be a lot of fun. If it’s not fun at least other people might assume you’re having fun based on your profile and invite you to other possibly enjoyable events. Same thing when you move to a new city. You have to join things to meet people and eventually find like-minded friends.
Volunteer:
Volunteering can be not only awesome and rewarding but it is a good way to meet people as well. Of course some people have been court ordered to volunteer but others just have giving/serving hearts which make for great friends. So many places are looking for volunteers, so find something that tugs at your heart strings and help out.
Make An Event:
There are all kinds of fun things to do and there are event goers and event makers. If you only know a few people consider having a game night and having the few people you know bring themselves and a friend. Remember in Vacation Bible School when you would earn points for bringing a friend? You can even give imaginary points to anyone who brings a friend to your event. Why not? It’s your party. There are no rules that you have to become boring once you reach a certain age. Be creative! Have a prom or a I love the 80s party. People love reasons to celebrate. Have a “It’s Tuesday Party”. If you send out an invite, people will come.
Do you have any other ideas? Or better yet, do you live in Nashville and want to hang out?
My Life With Freckles 