Enforced Secret Joy #16 – My Dentist

There is no happier man in the world than my dentist, Dr. Chuckles. I’m serious. He’s the most amiable, most congenial, most happy-go-lucky guy you will ever find wielding dental instruments. He’s not the sadistic type. And it’s not because I’m one of his perfect patients with no cavities. No, no, he’s just happy with the world, and with his family, and gosh golly gee isn’t life SWELL!?

And I know all of this because he’s quite the Chatty Chuckler when he’s working on my teeth. When I first started seeing him, he would try to get me to talk, which is impossible when he’s scraping plaque from the insides of my lower incisors. Now, a few well placed questions from me before I open my mouth, and he’s off and running on a 30 minute monologue, about his wife, his in-laws, his kids, their sports. And he’s just beaming a big grin through it all, like a Hawaiian Buddha Belly.

And today, he told me how he and his wife celebrated their 25th anniversary. “Now, I’m not the most romantic guy in the world, and she knows this,” so he decided that for the anniversary, he was gonna pull out all the stops and arrange for them, the kids, and the in-laws to all go to Las Vegas so they could renew their wedding vows. So a month ahead of time, he booked not the Bellagio , not the Venetian , but specifically on purpose, the Little White Chapel , “It’s where all the celebrities get married, like Britney Spears!” Dr. Chuckles burbles.

And I’m waiting for the part of the story where his wife breaks down in tears, because she wanted Mandalay Bay , but no, she put her foot down only when Dr. Chuckles wanted to include Elvis in the ceremony. So Dr. Chuckles said okay, ixnay on the lvisEay.

Now this is a husband and wife dental practice, and she was usually working one room over on her patients, and Dr. Chuckles gets very animated with his stories, so all she heard for a month leading up to the trip was how she wouldn’t let Elvis be a part of their ceremony. So the day before the ceremony…when they’re already in Vegas and doing golf and spa days…she calls up the Little White Chapel…

AND ELVIS IS BACK IN THE CEREMONY!

Dr. Chuckles is still so giddy with joy at telling this story which has to be the ten thousandth time he’s told it (‘cause I think it was two months ago), he’s still got Laughing Tears in his eyes. And it has to be the most awesome wedding renewal story I’ve ever heard. I hope his wife in the next room thinks so too.

Dear God, thank you for Dr. Chuckles. Thank you for his wife, their family, the fact that they’ve been together for 25 years. Thank you that their renewal ceremony came off without a hitch, and thank you that he got Elvis in his renewal ceremony. Thank you for his giddy glee and joy at life, thank you for his genuine soul and pure heart, and that sounds like stupid Christian talk, but five minutes in a room with this guy and you understand that his happiness is completely genuine and it’s one in a million people that can be that happy all the time and he happens to be my dentist so thank you for that. Please help me to capture one tenth of that joy in my own life, though I’m a little lost on where to start, but I’m sure it’s out there. And thank you for no cavities. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.