Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Body Talk

If you've talked to me lately, you know that I've become obsessed with Once Upon a Time. Oh how I love the complex plot lines. Oh how I love the battle of Good vs. Evil. Oh how I love the rich character development. Oh how I love the characters!

Do you know what I love about Regina? (It's really not what I love the most about her character, but it does fascinate me.) This:

 Picture from ABC

OK, so you can't see it very well, but if you watch the show, you've seen it before: Lana Parilla has a scar on her upper lip. The reason her scar intrigues me is because even though we live in a world that is OBSESSED with image perfection, she didn't feel like she had to get her scar fixed before becoming a star. I like that.

Do you remember how Tow Mater said that his dents were valuable because each one held a memory?(Paraphrasing. I don't have those Disney movies memorized verbatim.) Scars are the same: each scar on our bodies has a story. And since I'm a clumsy girl, I have lots of scars.

Picture from Disney

The first scar I remember getting was when I was 5 and I was racing my dad down the ramp from the post office and I tripped and scrapped my knee and elbow. I remember wearing a polyester suit to school the next day and it kept clinging to my wounds and I was miserable. I banned all polyester suits from my wardrobe from that day forward.

I fell on my forehead three years in a row. First, I fell from climbing the underside of a slide during recess and had to get three stitches. Second, I crashed my bike while trying to leave skid marks in the dirt and had to get 7 stitches. And lastly, I hung upside down from a swing like a trapeze artist and scraped my head on the ground. This time they said I didn't have enough skin on my forehead to bring together for stitches. They also told me it would be safer if I lived life from behind a computer screen. I was paranoid about my forehead scars for a long time and always made sure I had bangs covering them, but either they faded enough for me to not notice them or I stopped caring.

I was more careful as an adult and didn't wound myself so frequently. Phew. I do have one scar that you'll never see--actually, I have three scars in the same place that you will never see. Those are from having three C-sections. And I have one on my hand that looks like a cigarette burn, but it's actually from a glue gun. (I slipped up and tried to do something other than typing on a computer. It will never happen again!)

What scars do you have? What stories go with those scars? Do you have any scars that you would like to see vanish? I do. I have a couple on my back where I had moles removed, but then the wound split before it could heal. Those don't have a good story, so that's why I don't like having them there. Maybe I could make up a better story and make people think I got attacked by a wild badger! Oh wait, that story has already been used by Teen #2, who also just had a mole removed. I wish I would have thought of it sooner! Clever boy.

Tell us your sorrowful/weird/funny tales of injury! Take pictures of your scars and email them to me if you would like!  (Actually, no. Don't. I have a weak constitution. )  Please share your pain!

Oh ... and it's the last week of the month. Come back Thursday to see what random comment wins something that will scar you for life!

24 comments:

Jennifer Lovell said...

Those are some sad forehead scar stories! If I were your mother, I would have been worried. But you turned out perfectly gorgeous anyway, so that's good :). My little Audrey has a forehead scar right between her eyebrows from when her baby brother chucked a metal Thomas the Tank Engine at her face--I never took her in for stitches, so thankfully it has faded and I don't think others notice it besides us.

Me? I have probably 20 mole-removal scars. The ones on my thighs are the biggest, I think because they had to go back and re-do them because pigment started reappearing. They are on matching spots--one on each thigh, and the largest one is almost the size of a stick of chewing gum! Oh well. Good thing I don't put on a bathing suit that often. The rest of those scars are mostly on my abdomen and my back. Most of them are my fault from letting myself bake in the sun. Shame on me. I would like to have never had the moles, but I'd rather have the scars than the moles, so I'm okay with them.

My only other memorable scar is one on my knee. It's very small now. I got it in high school by slipping on the gravel when I was having a water fight with my brothers after we finished playing baseball together. I like that scar because it reminds me that we were having so much fun together that day.

I'm glad the gashes that I gave myself when I was shaving (when I was a beginner) have all but disappeared--those scars were pretty lame.

Know who else has a significant lip scar? Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor in Smallville. I wonder why they didn't add it to the story somehow...they could have come up with something good for that villain, ha ha!

Nicole Jessop said...

I don't have very many exciting scar stories. Most are just lame things like bike crashes or falling.

I have a scar running down the left side of my face from my brother shoving me into a pile of antler at my grandparents' house one night. It use to be pretty obvious, but it's faded enough that unless I show someone where it is, they can't see it.

I have another on the back of my leg from a barbed wire fence. That one I've always thought was weird because it's so raised compared to my other scars.

And I have another on the back of my leg that's from a pretty gnarly burn from one of the lawnmowers at work one summer.

And lastly, on my thumb, I have a burn from a girls camp experience where we were roasting starburst over the fire. I remember everything perfectly in slow motion, from seeing the starburst drip to knowing I wasn't moving my hand away fast enough. That's still the best way to eat them though!

Anonymous said...

Heather- don't have many fun scar stories, on on my hand from the car crash I was in with my siblings, I've one on my face by my left ear from Julie dumping me off the handlebars. One on the same side on my cheek bone from a mole removed. And many a road map from multiple pregnancies which carry the most memorable stories. I'm sure Anne will tell you of the scar on her face from my fork...da da dum.

PaulaShawn said...

Scars, eh? It would seem that I would be a walking scar, terrifying everyone who sees me. But scars aren't the reason I'm terrifying.

I thought I'd have a scar on my arm from cozying up to a curling iron someone put on a bed, but I don't. And you probably would need an X-ray to see my sledding scars (I'm pretty sure I've broken my tailbone a time or three).

My scars reveal that I'm pretty much all work and no play. I have a scar on my thumb from peeling potatoes as a child. I have a scar on my shin from working as a janitor and colliding with a metal tank of a vacuum.

And my main acne scar came from a dermatologist who popped a tiny blemish and left his mark on my face PERMANENTLY !

I'm afraid I'm gonna have scars from my new million dollar shoes that I mentioned a few posts back. They didn't work out so well for me. Fortunately the store took them back, despite the horrific blood stains in both of them.

But my biggest scar comes from Lori not even giving a 10 second thought to moving her family by me.

Devree said...

Let's start at the beginning: when I was five, I broke my elbow and my dad cut off my cast a day or two early. He accidentally cut me a little and gave me a little scar. He used a "pocket chain - saw " but I just called it a chainsaw when I told my aunt. "Oh and where was your mom while he did this?" "Upstairs taking a nap."
There have been various scars on my knees from falling thus the belief that my knees are ugly. Now I have one that's the size of a quarter because I fell at school and then periodically fell and broke up the scab so now it's a scar.
Then I have th ones from surgeries; one behind my right ear from brain surgery, one in front of my right ear that hooks by my jawline, one in front of my left ear, one by my eye to help it not droop, one by my hair line from lifting my eyebrow, one by my nose from making my face more symmetrical, on my ankle from retrieveing the nerve for my face, on the outside of my right thigh for extra tissue on my face and the biggest one is inside my right thigh to replace some facial muscles. Everything after the scar behind the ear is from my two smile surgeries.
Wow, typing all that made me feel like a real Frankenstein monster! But all foreseeable surgeries are done for now.

Lori Folkman said...

JazznJenna: I hadn't thought of how my clumsiness would have worried my mom. I wonder if it worried my dad more because he was the one who had to pay the medical bills. Thank goodness I grew out of that ... somewhat. I'm glad I'm not the only one haunted by moles.

Nicole: I've never heard of roasting starburst! I will never tell my kids, as I can imagine it is a gooey mess! Do you stab it onto a stick like a marshmallow? And I'm surprised you still like them after they betrayed you and scalded your skin!

Heather: You forked your sister??? I must hear more. I love the pregnancy road maps--nothing more important than giving the gift of life! It makes me sad that some people want to get rid of those warrior wounds to have the perfect body again. :(

Paula: that curling iron burn was nasty! It was almost as bad as the burn I gave you when I said I didn't trust you to fly me to your house: on your broom! ... I did give moving to Nevada a 10 second thought, but then I looked out my window and thought, naw!

Devree: You get the Wounded Warrior Award! It makes me realize I should smile more because it doesn't take any effort at all for me to do so. Thanks for always being the perfect example of joyful endurance! I love that chainsaw story. I bet your mom never took another peaceful nap! (Is that a power tool?)

Lori Folkman said...

I should have checked email before I replied because Paulashawn sent me pictures of her latest wounds!!! Actually, it's a good thing I didn't check because I would have lost that head cheese and liver sandwich I had for lunch. Ewwww! Maybe trails aren't meant for running on, Paula. Maybe people run on treadmills for a reason.

Didi said...

I have three scars, but none of them have very exciting stories. My first one I got as a two-year old, when I put my hand on a hot heating pipe near the floor. And the second one is from a wart that keeps coming back on my foot (gross, I know). The third one is from when I had just gotten some new pants, and a staple from the tag stuck out and scraped my leg. And last but not least, I have a few small hidden ones on my arms that came from mosquito attacks in the moving truck a year ago (because I scratched them too much). Most of these have already faded away mostly, except for the burn on my hand. I guess that's it!

Nicole Jessop said...

No, it isn't too gooey. You're just warming them up. If they're getting hot enough to bubble and drip then they're too hot. Hence the burn. I think it's less messy than marshmallows. And you can eat more because they don't make you feel too sugared out too fast :)

LStevens said...

Well my best scar story, actually didn't leave any scars....I was very blessed to be introduced to the powers of essential oils. Right before Christmas of 2010, I believe, I was making toffee for the first time. It was finished and my husband was holding the pot and dumping the candy onto a cookie sheet. I was scraping out the pan with a spatula and accidently dipped my hand into the very hot toffee....needless to say I lost layers of skin on my right middle, ring, and pinkie fingers. If you want pictures you can look at them on facebook, in my albums. But you better have a strong stomach, they are nasty. Like I said I was very blessed to have found someone who introduced me to lavendar oil and animal scents ointment...two of the greatest wonders for burns ever. I came out with no scarring whatsoever on my fingers. truly a blessing.
I also have a scar on one knee from a slip and slide adventure involving a driveway when I was 12... :)

LStevens said...

Sorry it was right before christmas 2009, not 2010. :)

Lori Folkman said...

Didi: I just learned from bigskyboys that you are supposed to suffocate warts with duct tape. I think she read about it on Pinterest. (JK) And what were those mosquitoes doing moving to PA with you? Didn't you tell them you don't want their kind round your parts? Which makes me wonder ... is there any part of the world that doesn't have mosquitoes?

Nicole: Do you do it in the microwave during the off-season?

LStevens: I survived looking at the pictures! And you survived with your fingers intact! I can't believe you healed so well. Did you ever make toffee again? Being burned badly is one of my greatest fears, which is why I don't allow birthday candles on my birthday cake. :) I like the slip-n-slide story. Body armor and a helmet are a must for any kid using a slip-n-slide.

Unknown said...

I've got a hole in me now.
Hey I've got a scar I can talk about.
And baby, baby, baby, when...
Sorry, that's the song that kept coming to mind I read this post.

My biggest scar is probably the most recent one from my burn a couple of years ago. Just wish it would go away.

One of my scariest scars was from when I was a young boy and I was hunting and I was climbing across a barb-wire fence holding on to the leash of my dog when a pheasant flew up and my dog chased after it. I straddled the barbed fence and went almost all the way down before my feet touched the ground. Fortunately it was just ALMOST all the way down but I do still have the scar to prove it. Yikes, still makes me cringe to this day.

Long time reader, first time blogger -- Your husband. Love you!

PaulaShawn said...

Matt, that was so sweet of you to write. But really it was tmi. That's only supposed to happen to fictional characters (While You Were Sleeping) and not to men you really know.

Jennifer Lovell said...

We've tried the duct tape thing. Sad to say it didn't work for us (tried it on a foot wart as well as a finger wart). It's pretty tricky when the wart is on the center of the ball of your foot, too. Dry ice freezing plus exacto knives work for us :S...

Nicole Jessop said...

I've never tried it in the microwave.... Steve's more of a chocolate person than fruit flavored snacks. And! I tried to get him to write about his scar he got at Lake Powell, but he did not! I'm really going to give him a hard time now that Matt posted!

Lori Folkman said...

Matt: Matt? Matt! The hubs on the blog? Will wonders never cease? I wish we would have known about essential oils like LStevens used sooner and I'm sorry my birthday cake did that to you. ha ha. And your other story explains why men started wearing cups while pheasant hunting. I always wondered about that. <3

Paulashawn: YOU are telling him he's shared TMI? Kinda calling the kettle black, aren't ya?

JazznJenna: no need to amputate! It's just a wart!!!!

Nicole: So you're saying Steve isn't very fruity? I'd always kinda worried about him after I saw that picture of him wearing your scarf and gloves! ;)

Nicole Jessop said...

No, those were HIS gloves he won from you, remember?! But I see your point. First that, then eye liner?! I need to keep an eye on him for more warning signs.

Devree said...

Yaaaaay! I love awards! My mom enjoys naps almost everyday and they're usually peaceful unless the boys are home. No, it's not a power tool it's just a chain with a rough edge he used to saw through some of the cast and in a five year old's mind that's a chain saw!

Devree said...

Matt, I love your song reference! You're one of my new favorite people! (I would have added this on my other comment but didn't see it until just now. (And it gets me more comments in the reaping jar. (I told you I can work the system :j) :p) )

bigskyboys said...

Oh, the scars I have. Way too many! Ugliest is one on my leg from chicken pox. 2" one just left of center between my eyebrows. My knees could write their own story, 5 knee surgeries worth plus mutliple bike injuries from childhood. Not so attractive any more. Just remembered the chopped off pinky finger, that's a good one. But I agree, Devree gets the award.

Lori Folkman said...

Nicole: thank you for jogging my memory, but you also gave me more cause for worry. You might want to lock up your high heels.

Devree: I will mail you a tiara and a sash to go with your award. :)Your mom and I would get along very well--naps are the best part of the day! And you are a tricky trickster!

Bigskyboys: Most children these days don't have chicken pox scars--the luckies! I need to hear the story about you chopping off you finger: I hope Devree's dad wasn't involved. You have athlete's knees: those scars say that you're not a couch potato!

Devree said...

Not trying to up my score here but my brother reminded me of some more scars on my chest from my central line (what they used rather than an IV for a few months) and I just couldn't leave them out... I'll just say that it's where Tony Starks arc reactor is. :j

Lori Folkman said...

Devree: you already won bragging rights--what more could you want? A real prize? Better luck next month, chica. You better comment 5-6 times on each topic! :) I'm so jealous you got an arc reactor. That must be so awesome to never need a flashlight! :)