Dentist Day Drift:a story

 The playlist was bothering her. Not in a dramatic way, but in the way that small things bother people who spend their days paying attention to details. I had recently read that some dentists prefer having their playlists organized in a specific order before they begin work, as a way of settling into the day.

One song from the 1980s would play, followed by something current, then another song from an entirely different era. She laughed and called it a wonky playlist.

I was sitting in the dental chair when the conversation drifted toward music. I mentioned that the Michael Jackson movie was coming out and that, for some reason, Michael Jackson had been on my mind lately even though I had no plans to see the film.

What fascinated me wasn't the movie. It was the discipline.

"I liked hearing about his dance rehearsals because I'm involved in dance myself, and I know that it is very beneficial to your health to have such an intense routine."

The dentist nodded.

"I used to be on the dance line in high school," she said.

As we continued talking about dance, she mentioned that her mother had also been involved with a dance line, though not the one she belonged to. Her mother helped coach another group that focused on hip-hop. Watching them perform left a lasting impression on her.

She laughed at the memory.

"There was no way I could do hip-hop. I don't know how their bodies can move like that."

I understood exactly what she meant.

"Yeah," I said. "We were supposed to be a dance team and do kicks, but somehow we only ended up doing hip-hop."

What struck me about the conversation was how quickly it moved from music to dance and then to family. I found myself curious about her mother and the path that had led her daughter to become a dentist.

I asked what her mother had done for a living.

She told me her mother had been a stay-at-home mom raising five children. Later, when the dentist was in undergraduate school, her mother returned to work as a paraprofessional in California and eventually taught virtual classes.

That detail stayed with me.

There seemed to be a connection between those two roles. A woman who spent years helping children learn and grow had raised a daughter who chose a profession centered on helping people in a different way. One worked in education. The other worked in healthcare. Both required patience, communication, and a desire to guide people through situations they could not always navigate alone.

By then, the playlist had long since moved on to another song from another decade.

What began as a passing comment about music had become a conversation about discipline, dance, family, and the subtle influence parents have on the lives of their children.

Sometimes you go to the dentist expecting a routine appointment.

Sometimes you leave thinking about Michael Jackson, hip-hop dancers, and the mothers whose quiet examples continue to shape the people their children become.