Mirror mirror on the pillar . . .

Keely, the beautiful daughter of my dear friend Shannon got her braces off this week. I was so excited for her as it instantly took me back to a fabulous day in Regina when I experienced the very same thing.

I don't remember how old I was, I don't remember if it was summer or winter but I do remember standing in the Army and Navy looking in the mirrored pillars while mom and dad shopped for something (probably work jeans) for Dad in the men's department.

You see braces are awkward. They cut up the inside of your lip, it is hard to play sports, you have constant canker sores, you can't eat a bunch of foods and you truly feel like you have ball bearings in your mouth. You face structure looks so different - your nose is flattened weirdly, your lips puff out, your cheeks are fuller - all in all you have a totally different profile. And as a female teen/tween it's a hard time. You don't have the confidence in yourself, you can't always see beyond the present and you have no idea what you 'should' look like since your development years have included these big icky metal braces.

So the day I got them off - all i could do was stare in the mirror. Look at my profile. Check out my smile. Run my tongue over my smooth teeth. Smile again. Dad could have shopped for hours and I would have been happy to just stare at that mirrored pillar. It was at the back of Army and Navy - with that distinct smell in the air. In the old store off Dewdney. The store may no longer exist in Regina. And you don't see mirrored pillars very often anymore - but that memory is still so vibrant in my mind.

Shan said Keely did the same thing. Of course it wasn't Army and Navy but rather the orthodontist office. But I am sure she was filled with the same emotion, same excitement, same relief to find that your nose and puffy lips don't stay that way.

Congrats Keely - you are a gorgeous girl and one day will look back at this memory and grin like a fool. You might even still run your tongue along your teeth - I find that I still do whenever I am reminded of that moment.