vignettes before i forget

-9 yr old boy, loves spiderman:
me: "did you get anything cool for christmas?"
pt: "a scooter."
me: "that's cool. so you ride around your neighbourhood?"
pt: "no, just inside the house."
me: "oh, you must have a big house!"
pt: "yes, it's like a mansion."
me: "you live in a mansion?"
pt: "NO, it's LIKE a mansion."

OF COURSE. A SIMILE. DUH!
[later on...]

me: "do you brush your teeth every day?"
pt: "yes"
me: "that is a good answer. do you eat a lot of sugar?"
pt: [closes eyes. pretends to sleep.]
me: "hey! are you pretending to sleep because i'm about to tell you not to eat candy?!"
pt: [fake snores]
FUTURE OF AMERICA, ESCAPING TO THE LAND OF DREAMS WHEN BEING INSTRUCTED TO DO SOMETHING HEALTHY BUT UNPLEASANT. SIGH.
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-29 yr old, right before turning 30, gross decay, we had taken out 7 teeth a few months prior; she didn't have insurance, so i "accidentally" took out 7 for the price of 1. "what was i thinking?! silly me!..." today we were going to take the remaining teeth/decayed stubs out. most i've taken out in one appointment was 22 with my classmate during d3 year. had 3 hours to do that, and i didn't really do it, just assisted. since we had some extra time, we decided to do all 15 today. i KNOW this happens a lot. and have seen 20 yr olds need all their teeth out, and have read about 17 yr olds need all their teeth out. but, to actually remove 15 in a row, and interact with someone my age was a little traumatizing. J's story was that she was in nursing school, had a traffic accident, got hooked on narcotics, ended up switching to street drugs (apparently it's cheaper), and then downhill from there. recently, she has been waiting to get married, and wants her dentures first. NEVER PRESCRIBING NARCOTICS AGAIN! j/k. not never. but mostly never. anyway, J is really trying to get life together. she is pretty but is annoyed that her face appears so collapsed "i'm 30, but i look 40!" (AT LEAST 40!) poor girl. hope the dentures can be done sooooon.

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-mom has been bringing in two children at a time each day, has 7 children total. the third day, she brought the two oldest girls, ages 13 and 11. 11 yr old was taking care of everyone. mom seemed a little high. was about to light up a cigarette in the waiting room until 11yr old stopped her. tried to explain that 11 yr old needs a molar out and another molar root canal-ed, but she's not understanding very well. i asked her if she would like to speak to a social worker and explore various resources out there to help manage her stress. it is normal for her to be overwhelmed. (the day before on her way out, she exclaims to the whole waiting room, "man, i wish i had a plane to go home. I AM SOOO TIRED!!!!!") back to today... she starts crying in the hub area. social worker comes. mom is a little apprehensive. every mom is a little apprehensive with the thought of DHS possibly taking children away from parents. it isn't widely known that there aren't enough foster homes for everyone. and that no one wants to separate families. anyway, social worker asks me what is my primary concern... she's probably not sure if i referred her because she was high, or because of something else. my response, "she's just a little overwhelmed with life."
oh ok.
after their chat, i find out that mom isn't happy w/ her relationship w/ kids' dad. even though he is a good father - he is always there for the kids (as opposed to the gazillion absent fathers out there). BUT, it is stressful because he has TWENTY-ONE children total. sometimes the other kids are over. that stresses her out.
yeah. no kidding!
this vignette, the most recent in this series, has already yielded so much discussion.

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patient sees our framed mini paintings/greeting cards on the wall. one is of la puerta de san juan. the other is of a pirragua stand. he (65 yr old) sighs and reminisces, "i used to go to that gate, look at the ocean, and kiss my wife there every day." - married 35 years, wife has since passed away. deeeeetohhhhhhh. "my last job was selling pirraguas. you know, puerto rican snow cones..."
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

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ok. too much emotion in one post.