So, the other day I was finishing the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia with our seven yr. old, Ben. I had my feet up, he looked at my knee and asked,"mom, why do you still have that scar?", "will it ever go away?"
Now, this scar is a nasty one. it is all wrinkly above the skin and is about the size of my thumb. I looked at my scar and smiled. my reply?
"i like this scar. it reminds me of the fun things i did when i was a kid. do you know how i got this scar? i got it roller skating on my rocky drive way when i was six. i loved to roller skate!"
then i proceeded to show him other scars and tell him how i got them.
-"this one on the bottom of my knee cap is from when i fell off my bike on a bridge in Smithfield with my double cousins. my knee split open and my uncle butterfly bandaged it and we called it good.
-i have one under my chin from jet skiing with my Oakcrest counselor friends one weekend after camp. i was being a crazy driver and i payed for it with a couple stitches.
-this one in my arm pit is from when i hit a tree skiing...before i fell off a cliff. i had to get quite a few stitches on that one. after a toboggan ride and an ambulance ride to the emergency room.
-on this ancle i have a nice smooth white scar from when i was learning how to shave my legs when i was 12. yeah, that hurt."
I honestly enjoyed telling him about my scars. :) (no, i did not mention stretch marks!) i also enjoyed thinking about them for the rest of the day and at random times thereafter. i got thinking about when i got them. yes, as i got older i did laugh about most of my accidents and wounds because, lets face it, they were funny. but, it wasn't fun. it is never fun to get hurt and healing isn't fun either...or easy.
scars are nasty but the memory of the pain fades over time. to be honest, i haven't always liked my scars, especially the ones that others could see.
one day, my scars will go away. that will be a time that i won't need the reminder of the pain and the lessons learned.
how grateful i am now though, that i can look back at those bad experiences and smile. why? because those experiences and scars are what make me, me.
it is not my "intent" to get hurt but it is my "intent to be better because of it.
Now, this scar is a nasty one. it is all wrinkly above the skin and is about the size of my thumb. I looked at my scar and smiled. my reply?
"i like this scar. it reminds me of the fun things i did when i was a kid. do you know how i got this scar? i got it roller skating on my rocky drive way when i was six. i loved to roller skate!"
then i proceeded to show him other scars and tell him how i got them.
-"this one on the bottom of my knee cap is from when i fell off my bike on a bridge in Smithfield with my double cousins. my knee split open and my uncle butterfly bandaged it and we called it good.
-i have one under my chin from jet skiing with my Oakcrest counselor friends one weekend after camp. i was being a crazy driver and i payed for it with a couple stitches.
-this one in my arm pit is from when i hit a tree skiing...before i fell off a cliff. i had to get quite a few stitches on that one. after a toboggan ride and an ambulance ride to the emergency room.
-on this ancle i have a nice smooth white scar from when i was learning how to shave my legs when i was 12. yeah, that hurt."
I honestly enjoyed telling him about my scars. :) (no, i did not mention stretch marks!) i also enjoyed thinking about them for the rest of the day and at random times thereafter. i got thinking about when i got them. yes, as i got older i did laugh about most of my accidents and wounds because, lets face it, they were funny. but, it wasn't fun. it is never fun to get hurt and healing isn't fun either...or easy.
scars are nasty but the memory of the pain fades over time. to be honest, i haven't always liked my scars, especially the ones that others could see.
one day, my scars will go away. that will be a time that i won't need the reminder of the pain and the lessons learned.
how grateful i am now though, that i can look back at those bad experiences and smile. why? because those experiences and scars are what make me, me.
it is not my "intent" to get hurt but it is my "intent to be better because of it.
