Diet Coke and the crevice on the back of my front tooth

Anyone who knows me well knows that my very favorite drink is Diet Coke. It's especially refreshing if it's Diet Coke with lime. It's even greater if it's a Route 44 Diet Coke with lime from Sonic. Anyway, I drink an insane amount of this beverage everyday. I drink a can on the way to school each morning. I don't drink coffee, so I feel like it's justified at 6:30 in the morning. I usually drink 2 more 20oz. bottles throughout the day at school. I may even have another can or two before bedtime. Who needs water? Right?

I have often thought about what all that carbonation is doing to my pearly whites. I know that I need to bleach my teeth. More recently I have had several cavities and my sister-in-law, the dental hygienist, says it's due to all the soda I drink, even though it's diet. Imagine that! It doesn't stop me however, from indulging every single day. Well, today, I was running my tongue on the backside of my bottom teeth and I felt something missing. I thought, oh my goodness, my tooth is crumbling. I'm going to loose my entire front tooth. It's going to chip away with every drink. Then I will have to have all this dental work done to fix it, Wade will suggest a gold tooth or something, I will say "absolutely not" and then he will forbid any more diet coke in the house because of all the expense I have caused with my little "habit" as he calls it. I can be over dramatic sometimes, but that's all I could imagine. Anyway, I went to the nurses office and got a throat light thing, and looked in my mouth, and sure enough something was missing on the back of my tooth. I could actually see the crevice at the base of my tooth. I emailed my sister-in-law and asked her about it. She said she thought it was just plaque that had come loose. She reminded me that I tend to have excess plaque. Then she reminded me that excess plague is caused by all the soda I drink. My goodness, can't a girl enjoy a caffeinated, refreshing drink, even though it's seems as if I have one in my hand all day long. It could be worse. I could be drinking something a little stiffer!!!

So....I have to wait until Nov. 9 to have my teeth cleaned so Wendy can remove the rest of the plaque. Every single time I rub my tongue against that crevice on the back side of my tooth, it reminds me......I need a Diet Coke.

Sandy C

"At least mom, the numbers aren't reversed!"

It's hard to believe we have been in school 8 weeks. Wil and Mollie got their report cards last week. Mollie is a very good student. She is very proud of having all A's. Wil on the other hand, is not ashamed to say, as long as he is passing, who cares?

So last Friday, on the way home from school, I asked Mollie about her report card. She said, "all A's, of course." She works very hard and is one of those kids who does her homework without any arm twisting or complaints. Most of the time, she has it done before she gets over to my school.(She's at a different campus and rides a bus over in the afternoon.) If she doesn't have it finished, she always wants to get it done when she gets home. I love that about her. She really is very conscientious about doing her very best and she is not afraid to brag about that very fact.

Wil....on the other hand.....He is extremely bright! He is an avid reader and especially enjoys reading nonfiction books on WWII, the Civil War, medieval times, and other historical books. However, we always get a knot in our stomachs around report card time. We know he has the ability, but we really never know how he is going to perform. When I got home last Friday, I ask him for his report card. I ask him how he did and he gave his standard answer,"I think I did pretty good." He always says it with an ever so slight apprehension in his voice. So..drum roll....he had an A in Language Arts, a B in Math(which is his most difficult subject)and a C in both Science and Honors Texas History. I was very proud of the A and B. I was disappointed in the other grades. He absolutely loves his History class and has already learned so much. He can rattle off all these historical facts that I have no idea what he is talking about. His actual grade was a 74. When I ask, "Wil, why do you have a 74 in Texas History?" He looked at me with a very serious look on his face and said, "At least mom, the numbers aren't reversed?" That's one thing I love about him, his brutal honesty. So, I had to go into lecture mode and explain to him that he is not working up to his potential and that we realize he is capable of much, much, much more. Wade on the other hand, was just happy he was passing everything.

It's so hard for me to imagine how God could have given us two totally different children. They are polar opposites, to say the least. It is much deeper than their gender and their report cards. I wish Wil cared about his grades as much as Mollie. I realize nothing I can say can give him the desire to work up to his potential, like Mollie. I also realize I can't force Mollie to eat potato chips and ketchup, like Wil.

I love their differences!!

Sandy C.