Tuesday, July 19, 2011

teeth, glorious teeth

Something is changing the color of my teeth. Either it is the liquid iron or the heavy dose of antibiotics. They are black. Sticky, grody black that looks like I’ve been eating actual dirt. Black that no matter how hard I try I can’t brush or floss away. Yes, I do floss on occasion - especially on the occasion of black teeth. 


Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. I know it is all my pride and vanity, but I really do not want to spend the rest of my life with black teeth. That would certainly take my hotness factor down a few notches. And, at this point, I don’t have many notches left to go. Can you imagine, “oh there’s that sweet girl with lyme disease.” You walk over to say hi, tap me on the shoulder, and around turns Jack Sparrow. Not a pretty picture, although I am quite sure I cannot do the accent any justice as I am horribly incompetent in that arena. Blimey!!!
My smile. Now I guess it all comes down to my smile. If you look at pictures of when I was young - Wow! If there was ever a case in desperate need of braces, I was it. you name the problem I probably had it. I spent my entire childhood smiling with my lips closed snugly together, not a bit of teeth showing. This was along with a horrible perm and that ridiculous high bangs stage. Now who in the world thought that one up. I can just hear the ad execs at Aqua Net right now,“Hey what if we start getting girls to buy into this crazy idea that their bangs should look like a billboard on top of their heads, I bet we’d sell a bunch more hairspray!!!!” You also had the more satellite dish variety, but I was a billboard girl, through and through. Between that and my frizzy spiral perm......let’s just say late 80’s - early 90’s, not my best years. Add braces on top of that, and you’ve got a mean combination for an immediate Heisman from the popular crowd.

I finally got those braces off when I was 16. My smile was perfect, and you couldn’t get me to stop flashing it. It was my favorite accessory. Now I was still flaunting RI-DIC-U-LOUS hair, but the smile , the smile was my saving grace.

Onto college, where I was still working out some hair issues, but again my smile reigned supreme. The second time I saw Charles, he looked at me and said, “You have the biggest smile I have ever seen.” I will never forget that moment. That moment led from there right up to where we are today, madly in love, two presh kiddos (if you don’t get that, you may want to read my entry Salivating Anxiety and skim through the half word lesson.) My husband absolutely loves his job, which makes me so happy, I thrive off of being a momma, and Christ is the center of our marriage. All of that makes me so happy I could smile......oh oops......on second thought, maybe not. 

7 comments:

  1. Brookie - don't knock the bangs. You have always been adorable.

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  2. But Mindy - you have to admit that the teeth were hideous

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  3. Hideous?! They were crooked, but you were still adorable!!

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  4. black is definitely worse than crooked! but thank you sweet sister friend!

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  5. if there's anyone who can rock a pirateer look - it's YOU, beautiful Brooke! nothing can take away your beauty! ever. not even black teeth.

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  6. Someday those teeth will be perfect again....they will....I love you and miss you guys....

    Momma

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  7. Brooke - I am joining this discussion quite late - I must have been under a rock somewhere (maybe the one named fighting breast cancer) but I won & I'm trying to catch up. You may remember my name as I met once with your mom and Robyn played with my little one -
    Anyway, i can totally relate to your tooth issue. And yes, Vanity is apparently my name.
    All my life, one of the first things I have always noticed was someones smile - and teeth. And my crookedy ones also endured years of braces and I had quite a nice smile when done and even got compliments on my pretty teeth a couple of times. Fast forward past my years of a chronic mystery illness of 30+ years duration and numerous surgeries to remove begnin tumors from my jawbone and upper jaw where they were wrapped around and destroying by there mere presence, my teeth - and my whole lower face looks different as well as my (formerly nice) teeth. Somehow it seems easier to live with the disease than to live with the changes in my appearance. Other than battling with the negative thoughts in my head, which I do - what gets you through the darker times, when all you can see is what you have lost?

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