![\"3](\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Marriage-Lessons-I-Learned-from-My-Toothache.jpg\" "\\"3")
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It was too late!<\/span><\/p>\n The panic in me was real. I was laying back on a chair\/table with sunglasses on my face staring up at 2 women wearing rubber gloves and talking about the rainy weather outside.<\/span><\/p>\n It was a routine operation for them.<\/span><\/p>\n But for me, it was an ordeal of being poked, prodded, and eventually getting one of my teeth removed (they used a fancy word: extracted).<\/span><\/p>\n The only thing I could think of was how stupid I had been and that it was way too late to turn back, I’ve made a terrible mistake. ABORT! ABORT!<\/span><\/p>\n This was really happening and there was no turning back.<\/span><\/p>\n After it was over, the dentist showed me the tooth (or what was left of it).<\/span><\/p>\n All I saw was this rotten, black gap, what a tragedy of a cavity!<\/span><\/p>\n It was more on the side of amazing that I survived having that tooth decay in the mouth for over nearly 5 years.<\/span><\/p>\n That’s where the ‘stupid’ thoughts came in.<\/span><\/p>\n I was stupid to put off going to see the dentist for 5 years.<\/span><\/p>\n I was stupid for wasting 5 years of excessive flossing, water picking, rinsing my mouth to get little excess scraps of food from my tooth.<\/span><\/p>\n But the 1 thing I didn’t do that would’ve made an actual difference was change.<\/span><\/p>\n I held onto my habits of poor eating choices. If you put a cookie near me, you should consider that cookie eaten.<\/span><\/p>\n I’m not sure anything could’ve saved my tooth honestly, but maybe I would’ve stood a chance with better choices.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe some extra care and commitment could’ve helped.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe just sucking up my pride, handing in my “man-card” and asking a professional for help.<\/span><\/p>\n You might be wondering, what does my tooth story have to do with the marriage lessons?<\/span><\/p>\n Marriage and teeth can have a lot in common but also some key distinctions. Read on to know about the marriage lessons I learned on <\/span>marriage commitment<\/span><\/a> through my tooth decay!<\/span><\/p>\n I’m the type who is reluctant to ask for help (my wife will vouch for this). I usually ask for help once I’ve experienced a minimum of a half-hour of “figuring it out” which involves me grunting, scratching my head, sitting, standing, huffing, puffing, oh my!<\/span><\/p>\n After those exercises of futility, I’ll ask her in my sweetest voice for help, she’ll solve the issue in about 10 minutes or less.<\/span><\/p>\n Now back to my tooth. <\/span><\/p>\n It rotted in my mouth for almost 5 years, the pain was unbearable at times causing me to lose sleep and cause me to complain constantly. Only then did I decide that enough was enough.<\/span><\/p>\n I’ve been a knucklehead and rejected the help from others because “I know already”. Just like I tell my kids “that isn’t true because if you knew then you would do”. Asking for help, no matter what the struggle is, can feel unbearable.<\/span><\/p>\n No one wants to be judged. No one wants to be humiliated and have something thrown back in their face.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>Lesson 1<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Lesson](\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Lesson-1.jpg\" "\\"Lesson")
<\/p>\n<\/span>Lesson 2<\/span><\/h2>\n