Jean Nidetch Lives On - Ash's Retainer Comes Off

I heard the irrigation system kick on but slept right through the rest of its cycle and didn't wake for work until 530am. The irrigation cycle ends around 520am. I headed downstairs after brushing my teeth. I forgot to hit the go button on the coffee maker until sit-ups were done and I was about half way through my first stint on the PC.

Once the coffee maker was underway, I whipped out 55 push-ups then returned to the PC. It was 63 degrees again under completely clear skies. The forecast was much like Wednesday, sunny and pleasant - a high of 83 with relatively little humidity. Wednesday evening felt like typical September weather.

Like clockwork, I moved on to meditation and stretching come 605am. Sometime during the next 15 minutes I heard Mindy get up and do something for one of the kids. Which id, I wasn't sure. I noticed that she turned down their TV too. It was on and loud. I managed to stay slightly ahead of schedule, and for the first time in a few days was out the door for my run before 635am. It was again very comfortable. I wore a short sleeved wicking shirt.  I ran the full 4.1 mile track without any problems at all.

During my run, I thought about the busy morning I had planned. First and foremost, I was meeting Ashley at Dr Monfort's office at 940am. Neither one of us have been there for about 7 or 8 years. Then, we'd be having what's commonly called a 'lunch & learn' at the office for my benefit. A group of folks attached to the same customer account were meeting with me to do a brain dump. Lunch would be provided by the customer account manager. I was looking forward to it.

I was back at home near 715am. I moved swiftly to pack and lunch and cook my breakfast. I fried two eggs. There wasn't a pre-made salad, but there were cut veggies in the tray in the fridge. I threw together an assortment of broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and baby carrots to complement my cheese and fruit. While putting all that together I remembered once again our 'lunch & learn'. Hey, worst case, I'd have Friday's lunch already at work.

I enjoyed my breakfast and finished up around 735am. I headed up for a shower. And yes, I took Mindy some coffee. I tried to be extra stealthy, and this time Mindy didn't budge. Rare!

I was out of the shower dressed and ready by 750am. I had a good 15 minutes before I needed to leave. Mindy joined me downstairs for more coffee. It was a lovely morning for basking in the sunshine. Mindy asked that I give her a call after the Dr Monfort appointment to let her know the outcome. I left the house near 810am.

Arrived at work around 825am.  Ashley texted reminding me of her appointment. I responded letting her know that I'd meet her there. I had just gotten settled when it came time to head off to meet Ashley. As I made my way around I-270 to the 161 exit in Dublin Rd Ashley phoned to let me know that she was already there. I urged her to go on in. At the same time, I noticed a message flashing on my odometer to 'check fuel cap'. What?

I turned prematurely off 161 one street too soon. It's been 8 years or so since I'd been to Dr Monfort's office. Still there early - 930am. Office looks the same. Pat greeted me at the desk. Said Ashley was already back in a chair and that I could head on back too. All the same hygienists working too, all of which are nice looking, well-trained, and professional. As Dr Monfort made his way over to greet me and Ashley, I quickly commented that it speaks volumes that the same employees are still there. Must be a good place to work. Dr Monfort talked to Ashley about Olivia and congratulated me on being a grandpa. Said he's still not one.

Soon he was absorbed in Ashley's bite/mouth. Looked perplexed. Right away he removed the glued-on retainer, said it was never meant to be there forever. Commented that it was most of the problem, and actually pulling her 6 lower teeth hard left, and even causing the root of her right most eye tooth to protrude from her gumline. I hadn't seen that. Nasty looking!

I know Dr Monfort's mannerisms well. He was basically exonerating himself while at the same time blaming Ashley for not following up with his office much, much sooner when she noticed her teeth shifting. In other words, it'll cost us money to re-fix her bite/teeth. I suggested that perhaps he remove my retainer too if they're not meant to be permanent. Said he'd be happy to do so. I can tell you this, when I last left Dr Monfort's office, I was under the impression that the retainer would in effect, stay on for life.

He asked Janice, the assistant to remove the glue on the back of Ashley's lower teeth and then to take bite models for his analysis. He then suggested we return in a week or two to discuss the options for fixing the her shifting teeth. Janice talked with me and Ashley while she worked. Shared that she has 4 grandkids and how her daughter is about to finish up her masters degree at Franklin at 31 years of age after not starting any college until she was something like 27. Ashley shared her intentions of returning to college too.

While Janice finished up, I went out to chat with Pat at the main desk. Pat now lives in our subdivision. Recognized her walking her little dog about a year ago. She remembered the hell I went through with Ashley's jaw surgery, fighting both Ashley and ex-Kelly to get it done. Two of her kids had to have jaw surgery too. She book our follow-up appointment for August 1st. They charged me $35 for today's appointment.

Ashley checked out my new car while I checked and tightened the gas cap. I did it three times before figuring out that I had to hit the odom reset button to get the message to clear. Ashley headed off for home. I headed back to work.

I wasn't back at the office long before it was time for our 'lunch & learn'. We met in one of the nicer conference rooms. While they ordered lunch in, it wouldn't be there for some time. The sales engineer spent quite a bit of time reviewing their specific network design without diving too deep into the details. We spent about 90 minutes together with our lunch showing up an hour into it. I left the meeting feeling a bit more knowledgeable having a big picture view of the customer's network.

I spent the rest of the work day on two relatively urgent matters for my specific customer. I decided not to spend any time on data analysis or reporting. I needed a break from all that. My work day ended around 530pm. Called my mom on my drive home. hadn't talked with her in more than a week. She went on about the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial. Misses watching all the drama. Gave her an update on dad's knee surgery plans. Said she read about Glenn blowing out one of his knees too. Yep, apparently so. She also thanked us for having her up for the 4th of July weekend. Anytime.

Home ahead of 6pm, Mindy shared that we'd be having leftovers for dinner, and there were many to choose from (burgers, chops, crab legs, and brats) I wasn't that hungry, but ended up having some pork chop. Jacob ate the rest of the crab legs. As usual, the kids dashed off to play as soon as they were done eating. Mindy agreed to water all the backyard flowers. After clean-up, I retreated to the deck with my book where I did some reading and napping until 730-8pm or so.

I headed inside when the sky clouded over. It was actually a tad chilly too. I spent the next half hour writing a blog entry. At some point during the evening Mindy said she had some news to share with me. Said she joined Weight Watchers online. Wants to drop 15 lbs. Busy tracking her points.

Went to watch some TV, but there wasn't anything worth a darn on. Mindy & I ended up watching two back-to-back episodes of Frasier. Both were entertaining, and one featured Woody Harrelson, which was the funniest. We headed for bed around 10pm. Good night Jean Nidetch.