Slip Slide on My Face

In my head, the title is read to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's Slip Slidin' Away. Yesterday we woke to a frozen landscape. Somewhat surprisingly, Dublin did not call for a two-hour delay, even though all of the neighborhood roads and sidewalks were a sheet of ice. So off to school we went. First Colin slid his way onto the bus. Then the girls and I were off in the van to preschool.

All was fine until the trip back home after preschool pickup. When we arrived back home, the driveway was still icy. Before I could warn Caroline to be careful, she had hopped out of the van and starting running behind the van from the driver to passenger side on her way in the house. A split second after her feet hit the driveway, her face hit it too. The result was a bloody lip, some bleeding gums, and a tooth that was not in the same place.

Today, we had planned to play hooky from school and have the girls' first ski lesson. Instead, Caroline played hooky for a trip to the dentist. After the morning trip to our normal dentist and then an afternoon trip to a pediatric dentist, it appears there is no underlying damage. Her smile won't be the same again. Her two upper front teeth used to be the same length, but one is a hanging a bit lower now. And she has to eat soft foods and use a prescription mouth rinse for about a week, but no damage to the root or her permanent teeth. She's been a trooper and enjoyed eating oatmeal for dinner while brother and sister had to chew on broccoli and red peppers.