Lindsay + Braces

Welllll here's the new me! Braceface. But can I just say that I am so thankful to have gotten the porcelin kind? I mean I still have metal ones on my bottom teeth but having the top be almost clear makes a big difference. But don't be fooled by my smiles in the photos below... yesterday was a really tough day for me. It's amazing how getting braces on can give you a full blow to your self esteem just about instantly. It's not so much the look of them that bothers me but more so how I talk with them on. I just don't feel like me. They also had to put spacers on the back of my front teeth so that my top teeth don't sit on my bottom brackets and those are very strange; in fact, my back teeth don't even touch now, making it very hard to chew anything. And unfortunately the spacers have also given me a lisp although the dentist says that will go away once I get used to talking (hopefully soon!). My boss asked me if I wanted her to answer the phones at work today but I think forcing me to talk will be the best way to get used to having these things on my teeth. Especially when I am saying "QueSt Group, thiS iS LindSay"... notice how many times my lovely new lisp comes into play when saying that greeting! Oh yeah I'll get these things figured out in no time.

What's funny is that I went home and pulled out some pictures from when I was 14 and had braces and the similarity to how I look now (in the picture below) is uncanny. Seriously, I am 14 again... except for the fact that now I don't have acne and my clothes are definitely cuter. I know this will all be worth it in the long run but now it's not fun. I do have to say though that I have the best support system ever! Before even going into my appointment, everyone on facebook gave me lots of love and encouragement. If you were one of those people, thank you so much. It may seem silly but it really, really helped. And then when I got home yesterday, Allison brought me over a macaroni casserole, hot out of the oven, knowing that I wouldn't want to cook and would only want to eat something soft. It was sooo yummy and really made my day that she was so thoughtful. Thanks Allison! Then when Jake got home he was really great too. He assured me I was still beautiful and that they weren't actually so bad, and then for the rest of the night he just acted like nothing was different about me and we didn't talk about them anymore... I'm not sure how he knew but that was just what I needed him to do. And I came to the conclusion that if he doesn't think its a big deal, why should I? Now if I can just learn to talk right, I will be just fine. Thanks for listening to my braces vent... I'm sure there will be many more to come over the next year.