I have a bit of a phobia about dentists and all things teeth, thanks to smashing both my front teeth when I was 10. For years I dreamt many variations on the same theme of teeth falling out. So, I put off going to the dentist and used nice excuses like being pregnant in 2008 and 2010.
I didn’t go last year so it’s really time I go to the dentist again. In July last year, I received a beautifully handwritten note in the mail from my dentist’s secretary (he’s had the same one since I first when there when I was 10) which said:
“It’s been a year since your last appointment. Be a good girl and make an appointment.”
The phrase stuck in my head ever since: “Be a good girl and…”
I got a new note in the mail this last week since another six months had gone by. It was also beautifully handwritten and simply said:
“It’s been two years since your last appointment. You know what to do.”
And, just like the last one it’s been in my head! Perhaps it’s a guilty conscience, but it’s also such a memorable way of actually saying something and probably the best reminders I get in the mail (even though I detest going to the dentist).
Goes to show there’s always creative ways of getting someone’s attention!