Today I didn’t feel like getting the horses out. But I took Raudi on a 2.5 hour ride, rode Tinni around the loop, and tonight, took Tyra for a woods walk. I was riding our trails solo when Pete met up with me on his pinto horse, Hrimmi, so Raudi and I had company for the final portion of our ride.

Yes, I know I am lucky to have horses and even luckier to have time to ride and interact with them. But it’s just like anything else – sometimes you have to draw upon your reserves in order to tend to what you have. This IS what love is all about. Sure, I do love the horses. And because I love them, I take good care of them, even when I was, like today, low energy.

The reason why I was tired was because I am now getting used to upper and lower dental hardware – plastic retainers that will in six months’ time realign my teeth. If I don’t do this, I might lose my bottom teeth.

Background information – when I was 14 I had a rear incisor pulled because it had abscessed. Nothing was put in its place. My teeth shifted and so when I was 30, I had braces. A Maryland Bridge was put in when the braces were removed. The Maryland Bridge wore out, and so five years ago, an Anchorage dentist put in a new one. It was a funky bridge. It had to be removed. He put a wire behind my front teeth. The teeth again shifted. Our insurance company said that I’d have to wait five years before I got another bridge.

My current dentist suggested Invisalign – I am now wearing my first set. And when I am done with this, I will be able to get yet another bridge.

Here are the rules: I must keep the retainers in place 22 out of 24 hours each day. I can take them out when I want to eat. I have to wear them to bed. I will discard my first set in three weeks, and then go with a second set.

What is in place right now feels tight and cumbersome. They are difficult to get in and out, but I am getting the hang of it. I am an adult, I can do this. I don’t want to lose my front teeth.

I can’t help but be awed by the technology that is making realignment possible. The images of my teeth were taken with a camera and projected onto a screen. They were then sent to a lab, which made the molds in a three-dimensional printer, based on the computer data. New images will be made and new models will be made. This is so remarkable industry. It is going to be to the braces industry what Uber is to the taxi industry. There are some who are going to need to be looking for a new line of work.

I am hoping that sleep comes easily. If not, I will remind myself that I’ll feel much better in a few days’ time.

130. 5/10/2018: When all Else Fails