Dear Rose # 66 - Grief, Gratitude, and Dental Work: Finding Silver Linings in a Hard Year

Rose is an amalgam of us - women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond who are looking for somewhere they are seen, heard and listened to.

Dear Rose,

Today, I had a wisdom tooth removed. When I left the dental surgery with shaking hands and wobbly legs, I sat in my car in a moment of complete overwhelm.

I felt that familiar feeling of grief wash over me first. The last time I needed serious dental work, I had Sara to take care of me and Barney to be my comfort.

But somehow, the love and warmth from that memory transformed into a quiet gratitude—gratitude for my job, and for having enough money in the bank to avoid financial stress on top of the adrenaline bomb.

And then I had a "fuck my life" moment, wondering why a year with pneumonia also had to have a tooth extraction.

But within a few minutes, practical considerations had become top of mind: What would I have for dinner that would be soft enough for my healing jaw?

Frittata is the answer.

Love, Em xx