Look At My Face... My Face! (Or, The Cleavage Conundrum)

clearly, my body is not perfect and there are things about it that i would change if that were an option; it's not (or at least not without surgeries or extensive visits to the gym, neither of which i'm a fan of) so i deal with what i've got. if 4 1/2 years in a theatre costume shop have taught me anything, it's how to accentuate what's awesome, and hide what's not. (well, that and "never distract a freshman boy when he's attempting to use the sewing machine for the first time"... yikes) anyway, what i'm saying here is this: like anyone who's not obnoxiously narcissistic, there are things about my body that i don't particularly like. my breasts, however, never made it to this category.

why are we talking about my breasts, you ask? here's the thing: they've always been quite nice, and not really something i've ever had a problem with. they're large enough to balance out my hips and make me look proportionate, but not large enough to spill out of things or have a mind of their own.

until now.

because a side effect of 2 of the 3 meds i am currently taking is weight gain, i have indeed gained weight. not a ridiculous amount, mind you, but just enough to be thoroughly annoying and cause me to have to buy new pants. however, instead of just padding my hips and my rear like usual, the girls got some padding, too - and it's become a bit awkward. i work with kids, specifically middle and high schoolers. it's just not appropriate to be teaching and tutoring with major cleavage showing. however, i currently find myself trying on shirts that were perfectly professional and acceptable four or five months ago, and discovering that i very clearly need something over or under the garment to make it appropriate. because boys aged 12-16? they may honestly be listening to you and carrying on a conversation, but their eyes will stray if so tempted (and let's be honest, it doesn't take much - and they never really grow out of it, come to think of it, but i'm digressing). it's suddenly much more labor-intensive to dress for work. there is not only the stand-in-front-of-the-mirror check; there's also the sit-in-front-of-the-mirror check and the lean-over-in-case-this-creates-more-cleavage check and the lean-down-like-you're-grading-a-paper check. it's just ridiculous.

what a bizarre "complication" of my illness... what do i do with these things? i've already had to buy new pants, i certainly can't afford to buy new tops too...