Confessions of a Candy Loving Dentist

I wrote an article on people judging one another, and it has led to some very serious discussions already. Perhaps I should have let that piece sit for a week or two before beginning my next piece of writing, but I cannot wait. The actual genesis of that writing began when I considered confessing about pranks I played as a child and early adolescent.

I am a “P.K.” or “preachers kid” as they say, and like it or not we have a reputation of being ornery. I am guilty as charged. They (people in society) were probably thinking about me. Ninety point nine percent (99.9 %) of my “sins” or transgressions in my life are very simple things, lest you let your imaginations run away with you.

Well, I am a dentist, but also a closet candy person. There is a little cabinet at home, in the kitchen, that I keep well stocked with various forms of chocolate, licorice, etc. It is almost unconscionable for a dentist to admit this. The ONLY thing I can say to, for example, the cashier at the grocery store who knows my profession when she sees the candy I am purchasing, and then remarks, “And, you’re a dentist?, is either, “I brush and floss, a LOT!” or my favorite, “It’s for my wife”.

My grandson, Gabriel, likes candy, too. Where does he get that from you might ask? I can tell you very honestly, from his Grandma. O.K., he got it from me as well. Gabriel probably received a double dominant gene pairing of “candy lust” which should seriously be a consideration in his ultimate profession choice of either becoming a dentist himself, or as an alternative, considering marrying a young lady who has aspirations of entering that vocation.

Gabriel is a wonderful grandson, and his Grandma and I love keeping him for a day or two. We are VERY careful to make certain he eats the right things. Candy is extremely limited. Gabriel tells his mother, EVERYTHING, which is a GOOD thing, so she (and his Dad, our son) know he eats healthy meals and snacks. But, Gabriel does “needle” us for a piece of candy, from time to time.

Gabriel’s father is a United Methodist minister, so he has grown up in the church. Last summer, when Gabriel was three-years old, his Grandma taught Vacation Bible School at our church so we had an opportunity to keep him for a couple of days and then Grandma could take him to V.B.S.

One evening, while watching Gabriel, I gave him a couple of Tootsie Roll Midgees (which are the small, bite-sized version of the Tootsie roll). The next morning I went to work and Grandma and Gabriel went to Vacation Bible School.

When I returned home, I found Grandma in the bedroom fixing the bed and Gabriel was quietly playing with his miniature cars in the other room. Grandma said to me, “This morning Gabriel came up to me and said, “Grandma, I want some candy.” She said, “You can’t have candy in the morning.” He said, “Why not?” She continued, “Because, candy is not good for your body in the morning.” Julie went on to say to me, “Gabriel toddled off, and I could hear him quietly singing in the hallway, ‘Candy loves me this I know’ (to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me This I Know”). We both laughed, and then Julie finished by saying, “I thought to myself (considering Gabriel’s train of thought, while singing his little “ditty”), ‘It may NOT be good for my body, but I know it (candy) LOVES me’”. We laughed again.

Once again, it is FUN to be a Grandparent!