This has been a rough year in many ways but I'm going to focus on the purely superficial. I turned 40 a little while back and let's say I've noticed some things about the way I look that could use some improvement.
- My teeth have shifted and yellowed which is of course why I'm back in aligners.
- I've gained weight in my abdominal area and things just don't fit the way they used to.
- My eyesight is changing and I'll likely need reading glasses soon.
- My skin is doing weird things and I've developed some dry patches.
- The greys in my hair are getting more obvious and I've not been to a hair dresser in months.
Thankfully I'm still generally healthy and while I realize the above is pretty typical as we get older. I don't like it and am trying to address all of the above in different ways. I've never been super confident about my appearance but working from home in the spring really shifted my attention to my teeth as I watched myself on video conference calls and my waist line as I initially lost then gained weight during the early days of the pandemic.
Now that I'm in the office again, it's a bit tricky dealing with the Invisalign hygiene. In my work building, each floor has bathrooms with stalls and shared sink space. Not the most comfortable for spreading out my toothbrushing gear during my first go around but even trickier in a pandemic environment where I need to be extra careful about how I place my things, there being a limit of people in the bathroom and not wanting to gross people out at the same time! What I've been typically doing is taking the elevators (extra slow due to limits on how many people can go in) to the main floor and brushing my teeth in a private bathroom there hoping that no one else is waiting. I try to keep it to one per day but twice at most.
The flip side of using the private bathroom for toothbrushing is that I'm not eating all day in my office like I did before. I do however end up eating and sometimes/often (?) overeating at lunch in order to get through the rest of the day without needing to eat and brush again. It's been a bit of a balancing act as I try to figure out just how much food to pack and avoid throwing out leftovers. Initially I was packing way too much food, especially perishables. In the past couple of days, I've been peckish by the end of the day so I may need to readjust again. It's a learning process definitely!
One thing I have to say is that while I enjoyed working in yoga pants, t's kind of fun to dress up for work again and I did buy myself some nice things (over the spring, summer and into the fall...) online (basics, accent pieces, shoes, you name it!) but I've been really conscious of my waistline and how my pants and skirts fit. I've always been slim and petite with a squarish figure but now there's just a bit of bulge in the middle that is unsightly to me. So as a result, in addition to adjusting my food intake I'm trying as hard as I can to find time to exercise regularly. But here's the thing - that's not always enough in your 40! Plus I love my wardrobe, I have some great investment pieces and I really don't to want to go up a size. I'm also frugal and don't want to spend money needlessly.
Anyhow, it's hard being in my 40s, back in invisalign, trying to keep my weight in check and not get sick. Add to that taking care of my family during COVID, including 2 school aged kids, maintaining some order in our house, trying to stay in touch with friends and extended family, reading, and keeping up at a demanding but meaningful job and some days it just seems like too much. But then I have to remind myself that self care is important too and I've really been neglecting myself since I've had kids. And if I it makes me feel better to invest some time in improving my appearance, that's ok too. Because when I feel good about myself, I'm more likely to be at my best and giving my best to those around me ; it's an example to my kids that I might have some responsibilities to them that I take seriously but I also have things I do just for myself too.
I know I have so much to be grateful for in my life. I am also aware that there are so many important things going on including COVID that are of importance socially and politically on a large scale. Having said that I am glad to have this simple straightforward goal for myself of straightening out my teeth again using these aligners that I kept from so many years ago. I'm really looking forward to the day when we are out of our masks and being out and about with straight bright little teeth. In the mean time, I'll keep posting progress photos here :)
UPDATE October 9/2020:
So one thing I realized is how important it is to control my fibre and water intake. Now I'm not fluctuating so much between pant sizes and looking 4 most pregnant periodically- phew! On top of that, I think I've mastered the art of packing food for the day when I go to work. Not much food wasted, with minimal hungriness at the end of the day. As for my hair, I discovered a new shampoo from Sally's that I love (it smells like apples!) which means my hair isn't so frizzy all the time. I may just let the grey hair blend in for now. Between that, a little bit of wardrobe updating and dealing with the teeth, I think I have managed to keep the forty-something frumps at bay for now!
