Tomorrow I should be going to see my therapist. But she’s in Europe somewhere, rejuvenating her spirit. We had an honest discussion last week about my abandonment issues. How I don’t feel abandoned, but Squirrel does. Squirrel is my inner child. It was hard to vocalize. I know I said last week I’d lie about it, but what good does lying to your therapist do? I never have, and I don’t plan on starting.
One of the sweetest things she said was, “…and I want to come back.” Something Squirrel needed to hear. It’s easy to say she’s gone before, she always comes back, but it was nice to hear her say she wants to. Not just that she will. She also wants me to email her every week. The hour I would spend with her on Thursday, I am to compose and send an email. She won’t respond, but she will get them. She is so selfless. But it fills that hour up with retrospection, which is half of what therapy seems to be anyway. Guided introspection.
It’s a tough time of year for her to leave me. I big bad anniversary is coming up, and I’m already starting to suffer from it. And I have a shit ton of dental work about to be performed on me next week, which is always nerve wracking. I never understood why the dentist was always a difficult thing for me. I’ve never known a harsh or cruel dentist. When I had everything blocked out, I could even fall asleep while he was cleaning my teeth. Now, not so much. Vera brought to my attention the number of oral sexual assaults I’ve suffered, going back to my cousin at age 6. So it makes sense that someones hands in my mouth would be triggering. And she’s not going to be around to help me through the first one. What I’m hoping is that as I have them done, it’ll get easier. What I’m scared of is it getting worse. Nine teeth pulled, a bunch of fillings, and then partial dentures. He’s not pulling the teeth all at once, either. He said over three visits. Ugh. But I know it needs to be done. The ones that need to be pulled are starting to break, leaving sharp little roots at the gum line. I can’t avoid it or put it off any longer. I’m going to have a toothless smile for a while, so no smiling for me. Not that I smile all that much to begin with. The big fight will be staying present during the appointment. Not shutting down.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
Descent Rising 
I can relate so much–both to the therapy break (ugh) and reluctance to deal with the dentist (double ugh). Both of these hit on very tender spots in my psyche. Fortunately a very gentle dentist has made it easier for me to deal with my teeth than it used to be.
I hope you’ll be sweet to Squirrel while your therapist is gone. Maybe do something she loves, like watch a favorite movie or draw pictures or eat ice cream? Something that makes her feel attended to. She (and you) deserve the extra care and affection.
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Thanks for taking the time to comment. We’re just taking things day by day. It’s funny you should mention ice cream. I don’t often eat it, but yesterday I had a small bowl of Oreo Cookie ice cream. I think Squirrel needed it.
My dentist is very gentle and stops often to make sure I’m ok. It’s a small thing, while being huge at the same time.
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