My Sister-In-Teeth

This one comes to us from Jennifer H. in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois:

PS I am curious to know the meaning of the term sister-in-teeth when talking about your sister-in-law Kelli. I Googled it and guess what I came up? Your blog entries when you used that term! Do enlighten me when you have a chance.

Jen, the journalist and marketing/communications expert and the general clarity rockstar--I am so sorry to have confused or disappointed you in my use of this complete incomprehensible term. I thought I had defined it upon its introduction but clearly I did not and that is not responsible use of funky vocabulary. My apologies.

The explanation: One of the very unique benefits of being a teacher is that you get your photograph taken every year on School Picture Day, for the class composite photo or the yearbook or your school ID or whatever. Not only do you get your picture taken, you get an entire package of prints, FREE!--usually the largest and most widely varied package including among other things multiple 8x10s which I used to mail to my grandmothers, much to their delight. So, a funny thing that teachers do (Ha ha! Witty teachers! They're so cool and we're so jealous!) is cut their photos apart and write messages on the backs of them, yes just like we all used to do in middle school, and trade them with one another. They say funny things like this one, from my brother two years ago:

Sarah-Hey. Can you tell from the fact that my shirt is buttoned wrong in this picture that I teach special ed? I did it on purpose but no one got the joke. Thought you'd find it funny. BFF! love, your brother Nathan

He and I trade photos every year and now his wife Kelli, also a teacher of course because what Kotleba isn't (okay, Steve, fine), joins in the fun by swapping her pictures with us too. The first year she was in the classroom--high school Math, good for her but no thank you--she took a fabulous, adorable school picture in which her signature photographic trait was clearly revealed: her double row of perfectly straight, sparkling white teeth. It is an attribute she and I share, smiling with our whole mouths and showing all our teeth, and one for which Nathan makes fun of us. So what did the inscription on the back of that wallet-sized snapshot say?

To Sarah, my sister-in-teeth...