I just rewatched The Devil Wears Prada the other night, introducing my teens to critical early 2000’s pop culture.
in doing so, I was reminded of one of my two favorite quotes** from the movie. “by all means move at a glacial pace,” snarks Meryl Streep as the character of Miranda Priestley*. “You know how that thrills me.”
That’s what Bells Palsy feels like. A sloth. A snail. A Glacier.
Progress is so slow that you often wonder if you are fooling yourself. (Is my smile better today? Or do I just want it to be better today?) You start neurotically asking your husband and sons to look at your lips or your eyebrows or your cheek, too confirm or deny progress.
Something that has made me feel better (and feel seen) is listening to the audiobook by Sarah Ruhl. She documents her journey with Bell’s Palsy over the course of 10 years of her life, in her book Smile: the Story of a Face. I highly recommend for anyone experiencing Bell’s Palsy. Her dry humor sheds light on the idiosyncratic nature of this affliction.
Thank goodness for humor and for being seen.
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Favorite quote from TDWP *https://youtu.be/GMTU-LUESgA?si=9ekvebSHTbmLtVsi
Other favorite quote from TDWP **https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldOfMirandaPriestly/videos/1825706234332002/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=wwXIfr&fs=e
A photo from a few days ago, once again a neutral smile for the camera. It was a little harder at that moment- wind and cold can exacerbate the tightness on the unaffected side and the immobility on the affected side. It’s felt a little glacial this day!