I mentioned that I hadn't willingly shown my teeth for a photo since my baby teeth came out and my permenant teeth grew in, for lack of a better work, jacked up.  I thought it would be interesting to post some photos to go with that.  Please keep in mind that all of these are digital photos of regular pictures so please excuse the quality or better yet the lack of.

               
These are both from when I was five (thus the five candles on my cake).  Notice the BIG toothy smiles for the camera.

Then in about second or third grade (I'll have to find the photo and post it) my perminant teeth came in crooked.  REALLy crooked.  I remember getting my school photos back in and being in shock about how my teeth looked.  I recal being so upset I didn't want to swap photos with anyone.  I wanted to take them home and cut them up.  In short I was ashamed.

So.... moving on.

            
I graduate High School (that's me on the left and my best friend who by chance had worn braces).  I should be happy right.  Well yes, I'm happy but you can tell I'm trying my hardest to keep my mouth closed over my teeth for the photo.  Everyone is yelling "SMILE" and I'm thinking "No way".


Then I have my first child.  A son born about six weeks before Christmas which in my opinion
 is a pretty nifty Christmas gift..  I'm thrilled but I don't smile with my teeth showing in 
any picture.  I don't want to ruin them.

You know to many this may all sound overblown and melodramatic but to me it's not.  You don't realize how hard it is to feel positive about yourself when there's something so obviously wrong with one of the things people first notice about you.     

Now please understand with all of this that I do not hold anything against my parents for not proving braces for me as a teenager.  My parents gave me all that they could plus more.  I grew up with friends whose families were able to provide the best things money could provide but they never had the things they couldn't.  My parents gave of themselves to me in the ways that they could and that means more to me than straight teeth.  I never have and I never will feel any ill will against them for having crooked teeth.  In fact I plan on having my mother with me the day I have my braces put on.  She's always been there when I needed her and I know she always will.

Just before the beginning.



You have no idea how difficult it is for me to post this photo. For the past 24 or so years I've done everything I could to hide these. No smiling with an open mouth for photos. Always covering my mouth when I laughed. My high school graduation photos, my wedding photos, and photos with all three of my babies are all photos where I'm not really smiling all the way. Even at times when I was supposed to be my happiest I couldn't forget that these teeth were just behind my lips.

All that changes now.

In four days I go in for spacers. I wear those for six days and then they are taken out and my braces are put in. Two years after that (hopefully) I will have wonderful, beautiful, and straight teeth.