Well, I spent the morning securing a new Orthodontist. I called a few of the ones who have been recommended in recent days and compared their prices, availability in Marshall, and baseline beliefs on large families and homeschooling --oh, stop it! I'm kidding. [scroll down to "Open Wide" to be up to date]
I wanted to get some ducks in a row because I was scheduled for a phone consultation at noon with "Dr. More-than-enough". I really wanted to cancel ahead of time if possible. "Cari is a scare-dy cat...Cari is a scare-dy cat..."
When I lined up appointments with the new ortho, the receptionist mentioned that if we could provide the records from our "previous orthodontist" aka "the one of/to whom we do not speak", we would not have to pay to have them remade.
I called Philip and offered him the chance to go by the old office and request the records...AND cancel my 12:00 phone call AND the other two appointments on the calendar. As expected, he jumped at the chance to redeem my time and defend my honor.
He called the office, cancelled the junk, and requested records. When the sweet receptionist asked what the problem was, he kindly replied, "Well, the doctor made some comments when my family was there last. We don't have any problem with his work, it's just his demeanor."
She asked if there was anything they could do to make things better. He said that there really wasn't - that we had already decided to transfer.
A few minutes later, when he stopped by the office to collect the records, he was graciously greeted at the front desk. He asked to speak with the same woman from his phone conversation - who interestingly, was the one in the room with the kids and I last week. She was with a patient, but came out immediately to speak to Philip.
"Would you mind coming with me?" she said. "The doctor would like to speak with you."
(This is what I love about Philip THE most...I am so wimpy, I was tryin' to dodge a cross-county phone call with the man. If I had been in that office, I would have been fixin' to hurl.)
Philip walked back. He and the good doctor introduced themselves. Then the doctor began to apologize. "If my comments were offensive, I apologize... I was just speaking sort of off the cuff...kind of tongue in cheek...I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings."
Philip thanked him for his apology, and explained, "You know, my wife takes what she does very seriously. She feels like this is the life God wants for her...and to hear the way you talked was a little disheartening for her."
The orthodontist responded with, "I understand. I'm really sorry."
They shook hands, Philip thanked him again for his apology, took the records, and left. Isn't he good? I would have been cold, defensive and - let's not kid ourselves - would have ended up doing the ugly cry right there in his office.
So, what have we learned here, boys and girls?
#1. Love your enemies, don't hate them.
#2. Always be (wo)man enough to face up to a tough situation...no matter which side you're on.
#3. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
#4. If there is $30,000 of potential orthodontic treatment in the balance, it might behoove oneself to remove one's tongue from one's cheek - so to speak.
#5. I have the best husband in the world. duh!
