Steep Learning Curve

So, it's been almost a month since I got dentures. I still can't chew food with them. My gums are far too tender and painful.

In the not too distant past, I'd have used that as an excuse to skip meals. But, I made an agreement with my therapist that I'd move forward toward recovery despite of this challenge.

I certainly don't have a perfect record in eating ...but it's better than it's been in a very long time.

The process of the adjusting to dentures has taught me something. It's changed how I look at food ...and my relationship with food.

I have never been able to say "I like ..." or "yum ,this is good" Food is bad ...period and I tolerate some better than others.

However .. I don't know if it's the rebelliousness that I have or if it's just that I'm really moving toward healthy relationship with food ... but it's OK to say that I like certain foods. I miss certain food combinations.

It's also ok to really dislike something ... not all foods will fall into this category of 'tolerable if necessary'

Another thing I've learned, just this week ... kind of floored me.

I assume that people either don't like me, or at best tolerate me. Unless they specify otherwise.

My therapy homework this week consisted of looking for ways that I feel either particularly respected ... or disrespected.

There have been a couple of disrespected incidences ... but there have been a few respected! Which floored me. I'd have told you last Monday that I wouldn't find any of the latter.

The biggest of that was that I went to say hi to my former psych prof. She loved my 'new look' (teeth hair make up) and we talked for close to an hour. It was a great talk but she wound up *asking* me to take one of her classes next fall! She doesn't care which one, just that I'm in her class. I was floored!

Kind of felt like Sally Fields ...she likes me! she really likes me! I'm not just a person who took a couple of classes that she had to tolerate my presence in her class ... she liked me enough to want me in more.