I have very sensitive teeth. My sensitivity is primarily to cold things, but sugar can also bother me from time to time. I have had this sensitivity for a very long time. I started complaining to my dentist about it before I was a teenager, and by the time I was 19, they thought they had identified a naughty tooth with a crack from an old filling. I have a crown to show for it. My dentist was sure that this would fix my cold sensitivity…but it was not to be.

In the years since, several exposed roots have been identified. Can you say smoking gun? Yes, well…here I thought my mouth was in harmony when my gums and teeth are so at odds that they can't stand to be near each other. I have some desensitizing paste that helps a bit, but mainly I just avoid eating cold foods.

That's really the simplest solution, isn't it?

—"It hurts when I touch it!"
—"Then stop touching it."

We planned a picnic lunch and hike at Devil's Lake today. That sounds nice, doesn't it?



The temperatures have dipped about 40 degrees from just three days ago. I haven't been paying attention to weather and was totally unprepared for the chill in the air. We decided to forgo the hike (the picture is from an excursion last May), but we sat at a picnic table and ate since Nick had already packed our lunch. Turkey sandwiches and apples...all encased between two ice packs. Oh, this was going to be fun, I thought to myself.

"What is wrong with you!?" I teased. "What's so bad about room temperature anyway?"

It was very chilly outside, and we ate in record time to get back to the car. I really wanted my apple, but it felt like a block of ice. I had been trying to warm it in my hands, but they were useless. I put it under my first shirt layer (I was wearing two), but that made my tummy cold and seemed to give me shivers everywhere. I decided to hold the apple in my hands again and just breathe warm air on it. I REALLY wanted that apple. I was on a mission!

I was still breathing on the apple when we made it back to the car. As we drove out of the park, Nick grabbed the apple from me and turned on the heat, full blast. He held the apple before the vent (I assume to make fun of me). I smirked at him and took the apple back…but then decided that was a pretty good idea and held it up again. I couldn't help but laugh at this scene. Does anyone else feel like life makes you a little nutty sometimes?

By the way, the apple was juicy and delicious—totally worth all that work.