Is she kidding? It always hurts. It’s just a question of degrees. Will it be a mild, somewhat irritating pain or will it be one of those shocking, electric bolts that run through the tooth’s nerve all the way down to my toes and back again?
Maybe I should ask for some more Novocain just to be sure? Numb up my whole head until it feels like one of those blimps they cart through New York during the Thanksgiving Day parade. That’s a possibility. But for the time being I’ll do what I always do. I’ll mentally pack my bags and leave.
There are vacations when you check out of the old nine-to-five and head off to some tropical retreat for rest and relaxation and then there are the other vacations, the little mini vacations of the mind where you check out of your head in an effort to maintain some control over a painful situation. When I’m at the dentist, my body might be in that chair but my mind is off someplace special and pleasant. It’s what I do. Admit it, it’s what we all do.
Stuck in a classroom with a boring teacher and a painfully slow clock? Just drift away and climb on that dirt bike and push it the limits on a perfect trail deep in the woods, jumping streams and taking corners full throttle.
Cutting the front lawn, pushing the mower back and forth in an endless mind-numbing crisscross pattern? Step away and save the crowded auditorium from the gun-toting terrorists. Impulsively diving from the balcony, knocking the first one unconscious, grabbing his weapon, turning it on the other terrorist before they even know what’s happening. Defeat the villains, become the adored hero.
Sitting in church while the minister rambles on and on about what is and isn’t good for the soul? Drift out of your body and push open the plane’s door, look at the ground thousands of feet below you, check your parachute one last time and launch yourself out into the void, the wind howling around you like a fierce beast.
It’s summertime, it’s vacation time, enjoy the sun and relaxation but let’s hear it for those old-fashioned vacations of the mind, the daydreams that keep us all sane, the daydreams that make reality bearable, the daydreams that keep us creative. When things are moving at a crawl let yourself drift away; you deserve it.
So, tell me, what’s your favorite daydream?
Here’s a link to one of my favorite daydreams. Enjoy the video!
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3 comments:
Just took one of those mental vacations yesterday during gum surgery--I worked out some plot issues, thought about the last episode of True Blood, tried to remember the lyrics to some of my fave songs, took a meeting with Alan Ball . . . good times!
When I was a kid, my dentist had a big poster of Murphy's Laws on the wall which was a slight concern!!! As for the daydream vacation, I'm actually in Paris right now showing my kids how awesome it is - of course they don't know that because they're at school and I'm in bed sick!!!!
I have a "happy place" on the porch swing of this house we rent in the Catskills sometimes. We have it this summer, and I'm storing up memories of reading on this porch for when winter hits (physically or emotionally!)
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