Cold, Hard Reality

Dateline: Chicago.It's a bitter winter in the windy city, and the bitterness is seeping into this reporters soul. Nah, I'm just kiddin'. I just wanted to use the word dateline, and sound like an old timey reporter. And to transition into the theme of this posting, cold, hard reality.
     The reality that there is no quick fix in this world. There is no free handout to make it all better. I'm not going to get new teeth by the end of this fiscal quarter. Or probably by the end of the next 12 quarters or more. It's going to be a long hard journey, filled with potential setbacks and pitfalls that will hamper my progress along the way. No doubt it's going to be a bitch. But through those discouragements I believe will come education, and wisdom, and peace. It's going to happen. I will get new teeth. But it will take time. As I've told some very good friends and family supporters before, it took me a long time to get to the point I'm at now, and it's going to take a long time to get back to "normal" and status quo. Not as long as it took to get down to the depths, but it will be quite a while. I believe the victory will be that much sweeter when I get there, knowing that I did this. I did it with the help and support of friends and family, but ultimately it was me who made the decision to fix my life, and drag my ass onto the pain train back to normalcy.
     This point was driven home recently by a good friend from college whom I love and respect very much. He has done very well for himself, and would be considered by many to be a wealthy man, in more ways than one. Since I moved to the Chicago area, I've gotten back in touch with my old friends in Michigan making the occasional visit when I can afford to get away for a few days. It's always a good time, and it's great to see old familiar faces. It's also a bit embarrassing since almost a third of my teeth are gone, and the others aren't too far behind. It's kinda hard to hide a mouth full of missing and broken teeth. So at some point I let my friend know what was happening with my neglected craw, and he offered to help, once I got all the information I needed to figure out what to do. Just how much help he was willing to offer I didn't now, and wasn't about to ask. That's just not done. All would be revealed in time. Well the time has come, and in just a few words spoken and unspoken, he let me know. Replacing all or just half my teeth is just too much of a cost for him to bear. He might be able to afford it, but that's not the point. The point is, which I've always known, that I made my own problems and it's up to me to fix them. There will be no learning or growth if some rich guy just comes along and bails me out. That wouldn't be fair to me, or him. I'm the one that has to make this happen, not him. Sure he'll be there to help with the dentures that will be coming along soon enough, which will be a huge favor in and of itself, but I cannot, and will not expect someone else to fix my problems. What I do expect from my friends and family is the love and support that they all have shown me already. That's really all I can expect. Which is plenty.
     So, as I mentioned, there will be dentures. A full set at some point. My insurance will pay half, and my friend will be helping me with the other half. Much cheaper than the implants, but the next logical step towards that end. I can't walk around with abscessed teeth in my head all the time. That's just not healthy. But that's still a little way down the road. Sooner than I think. It's just the reality of having no teeth in there is going to be a very demoralizing time, at least for the first few weeks. I'll cover all that when I get to it. For now, it's just plan ahead.
     Well that's it for this posting today. I'm tapped out, and I've got company coming in about an hour or so. I gots to clean this place up a bit. I hope y'all have a great day, and I'll write to ya later. Don't forget, brush your teeth, and pay your bills on time!