Thursday, June 28, 2007

This 'n That...

Mike's on the mend, but faces quite a lot of dental work as a result of the funky, anaerobic infection that appears to be under control at last. He had a root canal today on the tooth adjacent to the infected one, and needs a filling on the tooth on the other side; then in mid-July, the endodontist will perform oral surgery to remove the roots of the infected tooth, including and especially the piece of debris that Dr. X left in there.

I've done a little research on this: apparently, it's not unheard of for an instrument to break while a root canal is being done, but the ethical thing to do (according to other dentists/endodontists writing about this topic on the web) is to inform the patient (or in this case, me as his mother, because Mike was a minor when this happened) and give some options...none of which Dr. X did.

Enough of that; it makes me mad to think about it.

I'm busy at work, and the weeks rush by at breakneck speed. In some ways that's good, but in others...well, more and more, I think I might like a simpler life. I'm reading and thoroughly enjoying James Herriot's wonderful book, All Creatures Great and Small. But as I read it, I can't help but think that I really ought to be reading this book in a pine-scented cabin near a lake, sitting in a comfortable chair with mended slipcovers, by the light of an old lamp with a yellowing, stencil cut paper shade, with a worn wooden staircase leading to a bedroom with old sheets that always feel slightly damp in the cool night air...not that such a place exists, except in my head, but lately I've been thinking...maybe such a place does exist...and maybe I should start to try to find it.


Yeats had the right idea:


I will arise and go now,
And go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there,
Of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there,
A hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there,
For peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning
To where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer,
And noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now,
For always night and day
I hear lake water lapping
With low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway
Or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

10 comments:

Terroni said...

Beautiful...thank you.

And I am so glad your son is feeling better. Mouth pain is especially crippling--makes you want to cut your whole head off.

Theresa Williams said...

What an ordeal. The photo you posted earlier showed the truth of the matter. It looked so painful. Are you a great Yeats fan? I have much work to do to get up to standard on Yeats. I am intrigued by the fact of the Stone Cottage years when Yeats and Pound lived and wrote together.

Gannet Girl said...

Catching up backwards -- I couldn't comment on your blog for awhile. Already your son's ordeal sounds just terrible.

Fran said...

I do believe that place you are longing for is in Maine.

We moved here a year ago and just love it. Everything is slower and calmer.

I found found your blog through Second Effort..........just love him.

Tammy Brierly said...

Will a house in the mountains do, if you came for a visit? :) Great poem!

Glad your son is doing better, poor guy!

HUGS

Jan said...

The more I think about your son, the worse opinion I have of Dr. X--malpractice?? I hope you've found a good alternative dentist.

Thanks for the stone cottage poem--idyllic.

Diane M. Roth said...

thanks for visiting. intriguing name you have. Loved the Yeats poem and glad your son isn't permanently harmed by the quack dentist.

dreaminglily said...

I'm sorry about Mike, but I'm glad he's getting better. Things like that are so difficult.

And thank you for quoting Yeats, it'd been a long time since I read that. Lovely to read.

~Lily

Erin Berger Guendelsberger said...

I'm glad to hear Mike is doing better, and I LOVE the Yeats poem. I know just what you mean about sometimes wanting a simpler life. I think so much of the world today has decided that a busy life = a full life. I'm not so sure about that.

Kami said...

YIKES on the dental stuff!!!!