Jeff hasn’t been to the dentist in way too long. After months of nagging him to make an appointment, I finally took matters into my own hands and made the appointment for him. {Sigh.} He can’t do anything on his own.
It’s been on the calendar for months. I’ve had to change it twice due to Jeff’s travel schedule, but finally last Friday the day had arrived. Jeff took the morning off work to make the 10:15 appointment. Before I headed to the gym with the kids, I told him the general vicinity. It’s in the shopping plaza by Lily’s school, I said, unsure of the exact address. I was, however, quite confident that it was somewhere in that shopping plaza. I had done my job, and the rest was up to him.
I remained quite confident that it was in that shopping plaza when he called, frazzled and disgruntled from the dentist with news that they had no record of him. I assured him that perhaps it was in another building in the plaza. I sighed dramatically to my friend alongside me at the gym. He can’t figure anything out on his own. I rolled my eyes as my phone displayed his name a few minutes later with the news that the other dentist, the only other dentist in the plaza, had no record of him either.
He asked me once again if I was sure of the location. Exasperated, I barked that this was all his fault. What was wrong with him? Racing home from the gym, adrenaline pumped through my body. My blood boiled as a curt e-mail from him came through my iPhone: “Dentist not in plaza. Going to work. Please figure out what happened.” What was I, his freaking secretary? He messes up and I have to fix it?
Running through the door at home, I dart to the desk and dig out the phone book. I dial the number I have filed under “D” for dentist. And “duh.” At this point I have a sinking feeling that I may indeed have been the cause of this mishap. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last. That sneaking suspicion is confirmed when the recorded voice details the location of the office. Low and behold, the dentist is located clear across town, nowhere near the plaza by Lily’s school. That’s where the doctor is. Duh… the doctor.
Clearly, I’m just not cut out for these sorts of tasks. Next time, he can make his own appointments, and I’ll just stick to the nagging part. That’s what I really excel at.
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{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh no! Haha… it’s the worst when we are wrong like this, isn’t it? I have made the same mistake before, only with myself, going to the wrong location, getting totally lost , etc. Oh well, these things happen to the best of us, right? ;)
I think we may be married to the same man. My husband hadn’t been to the dentist in 3 yrs. After nagging him to make an appointment and him not doing it, I did the same thing as you, I took matters into my own hands. This is an on-going battle. He just went again about a month ago, and it was like pulling teeth [no pun intended]. We finally have an agreement that he’ll go ONCE a year–not twice like most people [sigh].
Sigh. Such impossible creatures. And who has to take care of them when they need the root canals?
It IS his fault Jill. Had he just made the appointment in the first place, he would have known where it was.
(Sorry Jeff.) ;)
Exactly. Thank you.
Yeah, I gotta agree with Danielle here. Also? Not fair to send an email like that! Jeez ;-) He probably would have found my boot up his ass, had it been me!
Then again, I don’t have any tolerance for that stuff. That’s why I married a very slow-t0-anger-or-irritate kinda guy.
Ack! How annoying!
Love it… at least you admit it… : )
Noooooooo….never admit guilt in a forum of which he reads/watches/listens/walks-by!!!!!
Eh, he knew I was guilty the second he got there. And I needed a blog post. ;)
I do this kind of thing to myself all the time! My specialty is making appointments with the wrong doctors and showing up in the wrong place. I even did it recently when I was supposed to take my son for an EEG at an office about 20 minutes from my VA house. Instead I drove all the way to Rockville, MD and then promptly had to turn around and spend 2 hours in rush hour traffic only to miss the later appointment they set up for us because Oliver had an accident due to the extended car time. That was probably my biggest appointment fail in the past year.
Oh, noooooo!! That REALLY sucks.
Oh that is soooo something I would do. We now go to the same dentist so this type of thing can’t happen to us (again).
On the bright side, you got to yell at him over the phone for something… even if he didn’t do anything wrong. this time. He still had it coming from when the kids were nice to him all weekend of Blogher.
That is so very true
This woulda played out exactly same way with us. I can feel the adrenaline already. So, when’s his next appointment? ; )
Men are such rudimentary creatures: they would live in a hovel, wear ridiculous outfits, never ask for directions, have rotten teeth, long ass nose and ear hair (and god knows where else) and never eat a square meal.
Even if we send them to the wrong dentist they’re better off ;)
Oh no. :) My Jeff would have killed me. I’m glad you’re still around. ha ha. It’s a good thing my Jeff has amazing teeth (drives me NUTS how insanely perfect they are-never any cavities or plaque) so he basically never has to go to the dentist. I on the other hand could probably stand to go 3 times a year instead of 2.
Oh how I wish just once I could be the one who is right, and my wife could be the one who is wrong. It will probably never happen though.
Oh man! Don’t you hate it when it’s your fault!? But my husband is the same way. I’m the one that has to make the phone calls for home stuff… insurance, bills, etc. and the one that has to take the video rentals back in. He just doesn’t want to talk to any strangers… But when I get the info mixed up… it does happen…
bummer!
My husband does this quite often. The thing is, he knows I’m horrible at directions. I don’t know why he doesn’t look the address up in Google maps or something beforehand, just to be on the safe side. Now he has a GPS, though, so I’m pretty much in the clear.
This is soooo like something I would do. And then I would feel all guilty for telling him the wrong thing and all pissed at him for relying on me to take care of everything and there would probably be an arguement or a silent treatment or something from one of us and then we would get over it and totally laugh about it and the next time I would still have to make his appointment but he would totally make sure he was going to the right place.
Man, that was one long run on sentence.
I just made him an appointment on a Saturday (no taking off work) and the new dentist is next to a Chinese restaurant that he can go to after. I don’t think it gets much better for him.
Well think of it this way…I completely forgot about re-scheduling my dentist appointment that I missed clear back in May. So thanks for the reminder!
My pleasure. Glad something good came out of this!
I know that you want him to have white and shinny, clean teeth but HE needs to do this, not you.
Hey listen, if you’re gonna blow an appointment, the dreaded dentist is The One. I can’t think of anything I’d rather get out of more! :)
You and my wife (SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed) must be related. She does that nagging thing real well, also – and I’m told (by her, mostly) that it’s genetic.
Yes, I learned from the best. And I love SWMBO- perfect!
I sometimes think Ryan confuses me as a secretary as well. So does Reagan!
You are a good wife.
I don’t always succeed, but I do try. :)
My hubby was a bachelor for 10 years before we were married so he is well trained to take care of himself. I won’t schedule any appointments for him. My job is to bug him incessantly until he does it himself!
Why have these responsibilities mysteriously fallen on the wives and women? This is my experience and the experience of everyone I know who is in a long-term relationship with a man. WE MUST RAISE OUR SONS to take care of themselves. Can we break the cycle?
We shall see in 20 years, huh? :)
Maybe he’ll need a root canal. After the pain, he’ll realize it’s important to make such appointments and dial the phone all on his own.
(I’m evil) :)
Except who will have to deal with the whining and grumpiness. Hence my desire to get him seen!
I’m the appointment maker, too. I don’t know why some men can operate telephones and others can’t.
Admit nothing. I’m working on a plan!
Oh OUCH!Hate when that happens because as you know Men rarely make that sort of mistake and when they do it is your fault anyway- we have to try so bloody hard to measure up so you are right- his job is to take care of himself and if he does not- well then…who’s fault is it?…..Probably yours…..
Ohhhh, no! Haha! Been there, done that, so many times. MarvMan has ceased asking me because I truly can’t remember which appointment is where and when.
Damn…I hate when our nagging comes back to bite us in the ass! It is part of your wifely duties though:)
My husband is all the time sending me emails telling me to schedule appointments for the doctor/dentist/veterinarian. It would generally take him about as long to write the email as to make the call himself. Which I tell him. And yet he keeps doing it.
Oh that bites!!!!!!! But hey, at least you know your strengths. Nag nag nag.
Oh delightful! Just one more reason to love you. I am the Queen of Nagging myself! And look at you at the gymn. I am SO freaking impressed. As I eye the leftover peach cobbler from supper. I suck.
Used your little secretary picture up there for a post about you. Oh yes I did. Call me a stealer if you must. : )
You a nag…I REFUSE to believe it!
So what kind of wine did you serve with the crow you had for dinner? Man, that sux.
Jeff is adorable, but honestly, it serves him right for not making the appointment himself ;-)
In fact, think that “Please figure out what happened” might warrant dropping him off at the wrong place one more time ;-)
ohhhh brother indeed. does this sounds like a scene from our house or what? but you know I literally have to drive my hubby there, and strap him to the dentist chair or else it will never happen. He’ll get lost in the dentist bathroom for God’s sake.
That’s FUNNY. I have to do the same thing. Thankfully, though, my husband has gone to the same doctor/dentist for years (though not often enough). Guess I should go make an appt….
I HATE being wrong- I am always 100% sure that I am right, and most of the time… I AM right. But that one in one hundred situation is just no fun… luckily, his memory is just as bad as his organizational skills, so he will probably forget said incident within the space it takes before the next appointment must be made- I’m guessing your hubby might do the same :-P