jaws are all around you!

Now that I am on this jaw surgery journey, I notice folks with jaw problems everywhere. I mean it. Kinda like when I was pregnant with my first baby and, kaboom, there were pregnant ladies all around me. :)

Sometimes this amuses me and other times it disturbs me. The other night I ran to the grocery store after the kids were in bed. On almost every aisle another shopper and I stumbled into each other. This woman had kind eyes, a bit tired, and smiled each time we passed. What struck me though was how far her lips hung from her mouth. Her lower jaw was so recessed that her lips appeared to be spilling off her face.


I fought the urge to give her a giant hug and pester her with questions. Had she struggled to breath through her nose, too? Did she have headaches? Had her jaw recessed more over time or was it always like that? She was middle aged, so I also wondered if she'd considered surgery or over time accepted her situation. Of course, there was NO WAY I would ever actually speak those thoughts to her. And situation isn't the right word, but you know what I'm trying to say. As I paid for my groceries, she pulled in line behind me and I snuck another glance. I thought, "Wow, I am really blessed. My lips can meet if I pull 'em with all my might." As I drove out of the parking lot, her car stopped behind mine at the traffic signal. It was really weird.


Reading about Leah's, Holly's and Heather's recent experiences has helped me grow more comfortable with the idea of surgery and all. And yet I still fret about how other people will react to me after the fact. I wonder how others will judge my decision - maybe because I struggle with judgment in my own heart?

The other jaw stuff on my mind has been a renewed interest in mouth breathing. I am slowly solving the riddle about my "long face syndrome". More on this later...