My Lovely Messy Life

I wanted to say hello and thank you for being here! It’s me, Ariel, the crazy goat lady and dentist who “hides” behind her goats. 

My husband Ben is the backbone of this operation and it might take a little convincing to get a blog post out of him so I’ve decided to share a little bit about myself. 

Life in our neck of the woods is a little bit different than what you might expect for your average dentist. I work in a rural health clinic —  40hrs per week plus all the work that comes from living our wonderful homestead life. 

A quick background: I grew up in a single-parent home in rural WV and my heart has always been devoted to service. I’ve worked as a dental assistant and earned my Bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene before going to dental school. I had big plans to join the Navy after dental school but as the story often goes… life had other plans for me. Three months into my first year of dental school and three weeks before my next meeting with a navy recruiter; I found out I was pregnant. He was an unexpected blessing that made for a challenging 4 years. Four years of people telling me I wasn’t going to make it. (Look at me now.????) 

𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜s 𝙩𝙤𝙤.🦷

Fast forward to life on the homestead. Life has been messy but my heart has never changed. I love my profession but I’ve come to realize that I have far more to offer beyond dentistry. If you know anything about me, you should know I credit my skills to a higher power. I wouldn’t have made it this far without Him. 

????Goats and this farm have truly been a saving grace. Being a dentist is hard!  Believe it or not, I give a lot of myself, my time, and my concern to patients that tend to lie, ignore my recommendations, and ultimately dislike being in my presence. 

Many times I walk into my operatory to help prevent bigger problems and educate patients with a smile and I’m greeted with “I hate the dentist.” I get it, but I’m here to help you and I’d love to get through it together as comfortably as possible. 

I hung a sign in my room that says “Dentists are people too,” to remind the haters that behind the drill is a person with feelings…and fillings too! 

The result is that I often feel depleted when I leave the clinic. I was getting burnt out! The farm became my reason to smile again. Coming home to the farm gives me a sense of purpose. The goats always love me and the crops don’t fuss when I need to work on them. 

The whole point is that life isn’t always what you plan but there is always a way to shift into a positive direction. 

What have you brought into your life that gives you a reason to smile?

P.S. As a reminder, the next time you see your dentist (it should be every 6 months,????) remember what they are doing for you and support them with a little gratitude.