The tale of a mother and her dentures...

I just went to help my mother at the dentist. She wants to get new dentures. There are many things a good daughter must endure in this life, and one of them is the aging parent, but did I ever think it would include this adventure in denture world? I did not. Silly me. I have been through lung cancer with my father, which at one point he had a huge sore (sorry, it's gross - I know) on his tail bone and as he sat on the toilet I had to put some numbing creme on it for him. He said that this is one of those moments he never thought he ever have to ask me to help him with - I said, "neither did I Dad, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do..."

So now we are at the dentists with Mother while he gropes inside her mouth as I stand and watch. He talks about how her gums have this strange dent in them on the lower front to which she explains that when she had her extractions, they took out some of the bone so they could make her dentures fit better. My mind wonders why they just didn't make the dentures fit to the mouth the way it was? I don't know - I'm just sayin... At any rate, he says that we can go to this other dentist (with a huge specialty title type of name of which I've never heard) and we can pay him upwards of $4 to $5,000 dollars to make it all right! Seriously dude - she's 84, almost 85! Who the hell has that kind of money for freakin dentures???

So then we determine that maybe that since the uppers don't really bother her that much that we look into just getting new lower dentures - which he announces will cost around $1,100 if we go with him. I tell him that she and I will talk about it and make a decision. As we wheel out of there shaking our heads at the cost for lower plate dentures - she says that when she got her current pair 10 YEARS AGO, they were $800 for both sets. "That was ten years ago mother, I'm sure costs have gone up since then..."

"well I can't imagine that they've gone up that much..."

"I can't imagine that they haven't mom, it's been ten years..."

"I'd really like to check back with that lab I went to in Lansing..."

"okay, why don't you call them..."

"I don't know if I have their number..."

"Look it up on line..."

"oh, you can do that...?"

silence

"I think I have an old phone book"

"okay - use that then..."

"that's a lot of money"

"yes, it is, but if it makes things better for you....just give the one in Lansing a call."

"that would be a long way for you to take me.."

"mom, its not like I never go out that way"

"well..."

"I'll talk to you later..."

I've included some lovely photos of the flowers that are in my backyard this summer. I don't spend enough time out there and I should. Especially after conversations or visits with my Mom. I need reminders of the beauty of summer and how much we take things for granted. Even mothers and their dentures....