In the meantime, it's come in handy for this week over at Mama Kat's!
So I reached into the ziploc bag and pulled out:
[a naked baby picture of my brother - not sure which brother, to be honest]
So I reached again into the ziploc bag and pulled out:
This one does have a safe enough story. It's my 6th grade school pic. I remember it well because I was sporting brand spanking new teeth.
I've told the story of how I lost my front teeth and won't rehash it now. The Cliff Notes version is that I fell off a skateboard toward the end of 5th grade.
The worst part of the ordeal was walking around with dental remnants where there should have been front teeth. And it seemed like it took forever to get all the necessary dental work taken care of in order for me to have teeth again.
I was thrilled when I finally got them. A week or so prior, my dentist gave me the one-size-fits-all temporaries. They were huge and made out of rough plastic. But even that was an improvement.
But then, my own personally fitted teeth arrived, Mr. Dentist whacked out the one-size-fits-alls and put on my new pearly whites. I was giddy! They were smooth and small! They were mine to keep!
During those long weeks of jagged chipped front teeth, I was self conscious. I hardly smiled in public because it seemed like the public would wonder "wtf??". I couldn't eat certain things properly. I had to scrape the innards of Oreo cookies with my bottom teeth - the horrors! Apples were pretty out of the question unless they were cut up.
So when we returned for a new school year, I could smile rightly again. When I had the broken teeth, it was awkward to smile. Pictures were an ordeal, I didn't know what to do with my face. But on 6th grade picture day, I sat on that stool and happily flashed my (just about) million dollar smile.
Then the photographer gave me the okay to leave.
What? Just like that? Didn't he notice my TEETH?
Well, no. Of course not. I looked pretty much like most of the other kids.
Just like I wanted.
.
13 comments:
What fabulous teeth! :)
I was 9 when I knocked my tooth out in a biking accident, and at 10, I chipped both front teeth in a marble rolling accident. I was SO self conscious and wouldn't look at anybody, let alone smile. I'm still a little self conscious about 'em.
And I have a box of pictures that I plan to get to too. At least now that we have digital cameras and phones, the box isn't growing...
Haha. It kinda looks like you're sayin', "Shee? Look it my new teef."
I remember the skateboard crash. Bummer of a day for me, too. :-(
That is a million dollar smile. Kinda sly with the "I'm cute and you know it" look. I've had a few dust offs in my younger days but nothing like what you went through. Still I am a bit camera phobic - I prefer to stay behind the lens (or phone) instead of in front of it. Of course, selfies don't count, do they?
That was one speedy marble! Childhood is so dangerous!
But then I have a friend who went through a similar ordeal as mine as an adult. She helped a stranded motorist out of a snowbank. As the car began to move free, she slipped and bashed her mouth on the bumper. "Fell off a skateboard" is SO unheroic!
That's 'xactly what I was saying!
Yes, I've noticed you often give us the "Agg's eye view" and not so much the other way around. An occasional selfie wouldn't hurt!
Yea, hard to imagine it but I am a wee bit camera shy. I don't really think my ugly mug is worthy of a TMZ posting. Trust me, I have plenty of selfies, but given the subject, they just might scare the children away...
Add me to the list of people who can relate to broken teeth. Reading about your experiences made my stomach squirm with the memories. I can't even claim something daring like a skateboard. I got hit by accident with a flashlight, and if that wasn't enough, got hit with an old pan. Thank God for good dentists!
I remember being in 6th grade. It was right about that time that all the girls started to become more aware of what they looked like. I'm sure losing your teeth at that age was extra difficult, because it was no so much a badge of toughness, but a very noticeable scar in the looks department. The new ones fit you just right. Anyone who didn't know about the replacement would have no idea they weren't your natural born teeth!
What's that? A flash and a pan?? (Sorry, couldn't resist...)
At the time, I didn't give my dentist the credit he deserved. I've seen some really bad crown jobs out there.
Again, ouch. That must have been such a relief getting your own teeth!
God bless dentists and their abilities to put our mouths back together! I would have been super self conscious too. Crucial tween years to have something so traumatic like that happen! I bet you've been protective of your two front teeth ever since!
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