In a word....trobbing!

Trobbing' was Ray's word.

My mom's second marriage was to Ray. She was in his first wedding as a bridesmaid and many years later as his bride. After my father and then Ray's wife passed along to whatever is next, the widow and the widower joined forces and were very happy. They were good for each other, and he made her laugh as they shared their 60's and 70's. Flo still misses him and it's been 27 years since he uttered those words...
"My joints are trobbin'!! He had rheumatoid arthritis which has genetic causes. So when I was diagnosed with it, I thought...

Hey! He was my stepfather which is not a blood relative. So how come I got it?

Oh well, just injecting some levity because when I told my mom that 'My tooth is trobbing' it brought her a 'Ray smile' followed by her concern for my pain.

Toothache pain, earaches, and headaches command your attention. It is literally all in your head. Unlike other pain where if you sit down and be still...the pain may cease, at least temporarily.

At 6:30 AM I called my dentist's office expecting to leave a message on their answering machine. Imagine my surprise when a real person answered the phone!! At 11:15 I was sitting in the chair for a diagnosis to check out exactly what tooth problem had become the focal point of my thoughts.

Tap... tap....tap. Does this tooth hurt? No.

Tap...tap...tap. This one? Yowser!

An x-ray later, I have an abscess beneath a crown and I need a ...no-o-o-ooo...

Root Canal! Damn...

Accept the things that I cannot change, change the things that I can, and be smart enough to realize the difference.

I am now on an antibiotic and have two appointments next week to spend somewhere between $600 and $1,000 for a flippin' root canal. But if it stops the 'trobbing' I will happily comply.

And there ya have it. My RA pains have been trumped by a tooth pain....

What a nerve!!! {literally}