Just Put One Foot in Front of the Other

My “pisscapades” story. A term referenced by Sherry McGuinn in Peeing in the Tub

Photo by Hike Shaw on Unsplash

Thanks Marilyn Flower for tagging me. It’s not quite the same, but I bet most moms and women over forty can relate I’m sure. Here’s my story.

How it began

So, back when I lived in the city, on the west side of Cleveland, I had to give in and call the dentist. My wisdom tooth was coming in and it had been killing me for weeks. I was about thirty six maybe. I had three children at the time, the youngest was about a year or so old.

Toothache pain is the worst, am I right? I’d rather give birth without pain medication again than have another tooth pulled.

But I found myself in the dentist’s chair. I was so anxiety ridden it had taken me ten minutes to actually sit in the chair. I asked him to just knock me out before he started. He informed me it wasn’t something they did just to pull a tooth. He must have seen the dismay on my face.

“I’ll write you a prescription for Valium” he said. “Schedule an appointment for tomorrow or the next day with the front desk. Take the Valium before you come in. It takes a little while to kick in but it doesn’t last long. But you won’t be able to drive yourself so get a ride.” I nodded agreement, took the script, made the appointment for the next day and went home.

It started out okay

The next morning I got the older two off to school and drove the youngest to daycare. Then I made a few calls to friends and family, trying to find someone who could drive me to the dentist. The dentist was only fourteen blocks from my apartment, but most of my family lived more than an hour away. My friends were all working day jobs.

Not to be deterred, I decided I’d catch the public bus. I was grown. People I knew took the bus all the time. I could manage it for one day. I called to check the time and route. As it happened, there would be a bus I could catch back home about an hour after I arrived at the dentist. But the next one after that wouldn’t come for two hours.

As the dentist instructed, I took the prescription Valium as I walked out the door to wait for the…