I’ve heard it and said it and now I
know that it’s true; you never really miss the water until the well runs dry.
I’m going to
tell you this as quickly and as completely as I can because I’m still reeling
from pain and embarrassment.
Last week, I
was feeling rather beautiful. I can say for the first time in my life I had
come to terms with the way I look and feel. Don’t get me wrong, I have known
and taught that we are beautiful as we are and should accept ourselves completely
before working on being better.
“You can’t
get the body you want if you don’t love the body you have,” I’ve often said and
at 52, I have learned to love the me that looks back in a mirror. 
Then last
week, something wonderful and awful happened. My wisdom tooth had finally come
in and it had to be removed right away. I thought I was prepared for the
surgery and to some degree I was.
I had love
and support around me. Jeanine drove me and Fatima fed me. My friend Vincent
came to town and did chores while others called and checked in or brought soft
foods.
But nothing prepared me for the face
that stared back at me in the mirror. I knew I would heal, but with the assistance
of pain medication, (I tried to go cold turkey, really bad idea) I deliriously began
to think that my swollen face would be my new look and suddenly, I truly valued
the looks I’d had the day before.
So here’s my point, don’t wait until
your older, swollen or even tired, to look at yourself with total admiration, love and respect.
Love your water and
your well.
Be you, be well, be
appreciative.
Bertice Berry, PhD.
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