Zinabu is now free of his troublesome teeth. Remember how his permanent teeth grew in behind his baby teeth and his baby teeth didn't fall out? We went to the dentist this week and finally had them pulled. Tell me if this happens to anyone else besides me, but when Zinabu had to go through something rough, his past and his Ethiopian circumstances come screaming back to me. It's as if he's been through so much already that any additional difficulties seem overwhelmingly unfair. He was very scared to go to the dentist, and he reverted back to his coping mechanisms: staring at a spot on the wall, blinking back tears, and shrugging off my hands which just want to hold him. I hate seeing him go there because it brings back a lot of yucky memories for me and him, not to mention the crappy way he must be feeling. I was able to squeeze his little ankle through the procedure, and he did FINE. He was FINE. The dentist was great. The teeth came out well. And he got a toy from the prize box. But whoa, Nelly, it was a long afternoon.