Scars Fade

It was a year ago (Saturday, but I didn't get around to blogging) that Claire busted her forehead open on the edge of a church pew. I was so worried about how such a front-and-center scar would bother her in years to come, whether she would want to hide it under bangs or whatnot.

A year later, I can say I highly doubt that will be a concern. We kept it well-sunscreened last summer and moisturized throughout the first six months (I used vitamin-E lotion and Mederma, but read that it's really more the moisturization that helps rather than any specific concoction). And it's already barely noticeable. By the time she's old enough to be self-conscious about such things, it will be hard to spot at all (and for those that do, it will make a great story; the PK whose church-related scars are more than just emotional ;0)

The stitches didn't dissolve like they should have, so they were in a few days longer than necessary, and then I worried that would add to the severity of the scar (2 months after, above). But, by the time I was taking some pictures in advance of Claire's second birthday, I noticed that it depended on the angle whether you saw the thing at all. I used some of these pics on her party invitation, and it probably looked like I photoshopped out the scar in a couple of them, but I didn't touch up any of them—it just looks different at different angles!

So now, one year out, it's not that noticeable at all, and what is is just Claire! She's beautiful, and I believe scars are just part of who we are (don't let my concern over how she would feel about it as a teenager belie that point!) I have a scar in my hairline that no one ever notices (from busting my head open at age 2) but I wouldn't mind if they did, and my stomach is a proud array of markings, from stretch marks to the scar left by my belly button ring, which I left in way too long into my pregnancy with Kate!

Claire is an awesome two-and-a-half year old, and from her serious, observational side to her silly, crazy side, I know she'll have some stories to tell . . . most of which will have nothing to do with a church pew.