Teeth

In the middle of one of the saddest moments of my life
my sense of humor kicked in
again

It shows up at the most inopportune moments
I sometimes wish that it wouldn't
But it always does

Like yesterday...

I was standing by my dad's bedside
Tears streaming down my face
When the nurse came in
The sweet, young nursing student
placed in charge of finding
my dad's belongings

Nurse: Mrs. Guimont, is there anything other than his glasses that we need to account for?
Stepmom: Well, I can't seem to find his teeth anywhere.
Nurse: I suppose they are on the ninth floor. I will find them. Sorry to bother you.

My dad's teeth are missing.
The hospital is on alert for my dead dad's teeth.
It was all I could do to not start laughing.

The sweet, young nurse returned.
Nurse: We can't seem to find the teeth, but we'll keep looking.

The tooth sleuth continued trying to solve "The Case of the Missing Teeth."

The sweet, young nurse returned once again.
Nurse: What room was he in?

Here is where I couldn't help myself...

Me: O.k. I know he had his teeth when he was in room 9114. I watched him eat his roast beef lunch and he didn't gum the food, so I know he had them there. He moved to room 9119, but I'm not sure if his teeth followed. He was then moved to 9101 where he went on a liquid diet, so I am pretty sure the teeth are somewhere between 9114, 9119, and 9101.

A few minutes later, the sweet, young nurse returned with a pink container labeled "Teeth."

Nurse: Would you like the teeth to go with your dad to the funeral home?
Me: Definitely no. We'll take care of the teeth ourselves. Thanks.

The Case of the Missing Teeth was solved. Crisis averted.
And to top it all off, I found a moment of humor in the midst of dire sadness.
Maybe that is not such a bad thing after all...