Damaged goods

Earlier today, Teddy and I went for a walk with Maddie. We were heading out to see Oscar, who works weekends at a bodega near us, in order to talk football. Oscar is from Mongolia, but likes to talk sports, especially tennis, football and hockey. So we had to visit Oscar to talk about the upcoming Steelers game.

On the way, Teddy was walking next to me, but decided that he wanted to hold the dog's leash. Until we got to Scheele's Market, where Oscar works, Teddy was happy to hold my hand with one hand while clinging onto the leash with the other. Holding onto my hand is important because Maddie varies her speed in a way that can be difficult for the boy. She'll lurch ahead, yanking him forward and threatening to pull him over. But as long as I hold his hand, we're ok.

After stopping to see Oscar, Teddy decided that he no longer wanted to hold my hand. In fact, he objected to any contact with me, including the hand that I was placing on his head while we were walking. When we started to cross 28th Street, a number of things happened at once. First, we were getting closer to the park so Maddie, knowing we were close to the park, made an abrupt move in that direction. Second, someone drove past with Steelers flags on his car. A bit distracted, I yelled "Go Steelers!" and motioned at my t-shirt that commemorates the previous Super Bowl victory. I got an enthusiastic response from the passing motorist, but in the meantime, Maddie's yank sent Teddy sprawling in the middle of Dumbarton Street. He started howling. I scooped him up and we recovered our composure on the way to the park where Maddie chased the ball, despite a nasty hangnail of her own, while Teddy squished around in the mud.

On the way home, I noticed that Teddy had bloodied his knuckles "Hmmm," I thought "Perhaps his spill was worse than it seemed. Poor little guy." Later, when we were watching the game with our neighbors and their three kids, Abby said "Does Teddy have a chipped tooth?"

Oops. I suppose that the boy could have chipped his tooth during any number of recent falls. And I suppose that the doctor could have missed it during his recent check-up. But I suspect that his fall during our walk caused it.

Tommy, one of Margaret's buddies at school, recently took a spill and knocked out a tooth. His mom told us that the dentist said that it wasn't worth doing much given that it wasn't a permanent tooth. I suspect that the same policy applies to the boy.

It's not as if Teddy looks like a hockey player, but he definitely has a chipped upper left front tooth. I'll see if I can get a picture sometime soon. Even if it's not very noticeable, as I told our neighbor, it's like a scratch on your new car - once you know that it's there, you just can't stop looking at it. Our previous "perfect" little kid is now damaged goods.