A Year of Blogging: September 12, 2011

September 12 is 'Chocolate Milkshake Day'. I'm beginning to think the people who create these special days are a bunch of chocoholics. Seems like every time I turn around we've got some kind of chocolate to celebrate. Not that there's anything wrong with it (except it makes me want chocolate!) I like milkshakes, but my preferred flavor is coffee. Although I still can't drink a coffee milkshake without thinking back to the days when I had braces. My teeth were in a terrible state before braces. My eye teeth overlapped the teeth next to them. My mouth, according to the dentist, was too small to hold all the teeth it needed to hold. My mother has always disputed the claim that my mouth was too small! I went on my 13th birthday for the consultation with the orthodontist. I spent my summer running between the dentist and the orthodontist getting spacers, teeth removed, and finally- the braces. I had braces for three years. My jaw had to be completely realigned. I was allergic to the metal in the braces, so I had to wear rubber 'bumpers' on the exposed metal parts. I went to the orthodontist every 4-6 weeks. Each time they made an adjustment, I left with my mouth hurting. Some nights I could eat soft food, and sometimes I wouldn't be able to eat for days. Obviously, I needed nourishment. At first, we stopped at Ted's Fish Fry so I could get a coffee milkshake. But Ted's was half an hour from home. We always had ice cream at home, so Mom started making milkshakes for me. I wasn't allowed to have a milkshake for breakfast (for breakfast I had Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks- which Dad remembered having when he broke his jaw). They didn't serve ice cream at school, so I had to make do with jello and pudding and anything soft. But for dinner, I could have a milkshake. Or two. Whatever it took. Mom made milkshakes for everyone for their drink, and I had the biggest glass because my milkshake was also dinner. And my dessert. It is a wonder I didn't have a weight problem in high school. My jaw was realigned so severely that it left me with TMJ. I still have days that my jaw gives me problems. I can hear my jaw clicking when I eat, and I know that before long it is going to snap, like a slingshot and I won't be able to manage opening my mouth to eat (talking also becomes difficult). That's when we start stocking up on milk and ice cream, and I tell Erich he's on his own for dinner. Well, I'm sorry for writing about unpleasant things (dentists) on what should be a pleasant day. One of my favorite things about being an adult is that if I'm out running around on a Saturday, I get to say yes to having a milkshake for lunch instead of grabbing a sandwich or something. I don't do it often, but I really enjoy it when I do!