Small bites

Dec. 15: Even eating an apple has changed.

I have a big mouth. I used to be able to bite into an apple and take out a quarter of it in one go.

Now, I can’t get my mouth open wide enough to do anything but scrape the skin a little.

My jaw doesn’t work properly.

The surgery’s incision cut through the temporalis muscle, which extends from the top of the forehead to control the jaw.

Other right-side troubles followed the surgery. In the first few days, I had trouble opening my right eye. The whole right side of my face felt slightly numb. The surgeons were unconcerned. “It’ll pass.”

And it did. So I have to believe that this one will, too.

Portion control has always been the hardest part of dieting for me, because I can consume a heaping spoonful of food in one mouthful. Well, I could before – now it’s hard to open wide enough for a broccoli flowerette.

So maybe this is a good thing.

I have always found it tough to keep my mouth shut when I have a strong opinion. No one’s called me “big mouth” to my face, but I probably should have shuttered it – more than a few times.

The jaw constraint hasn’t kept me from talking Ann’s ear off, though. Once I get going on a subject, it’s hard to shut up. She’s never sure who is going to appear at the table: the weeping Lisa, the sleepy Lisa, or the talkative Lisa.

We went to the playfield for a walk today. The weather was warm. I walked a mile.

It’s not much; before the surgery I would do intervals running and walking for three miles.

Small bites now.

I’ll take what I can get.