Scars…

Over the weekend, I saw a commercial on TV about a ‘magical’ cream that removes scars. The commercial showed a mother rubbing the cream on her daughter’s face and the scar disappeared over a two week period.

I have three scars on my face – on my forehead, across my eye, and one that runs from my nose to my chin. Never once have I considered fixing these scars. To me, these scars serve as a permanent reminder of what NOT to do in life.

The scar on my forehead is from my brother. We smacked heads as kids while playing a game. My injury required a mass of stitches while his head was barely bruised. Lesson? My brother’s head is harder. Fighting with him, now or back then, is a waste of time.

The scar across my eye was from falling off a bench at the ripe old age of ten while trying to reach a graham cracker on the top shelf for a boy. Lesson? Trying too hard to impress boys will only get you hurt.

The scar stretching from my nose to my chin was from falling out of bed face first while dreaming about… falling. The floor ‘gently’ removed the skin from the front of my face and it didn’t grow back the same color or smoothness. When did this happen? Um… 2 years ago. Lesson? Stupid accidents happen – even to 29 year olds.

It had me thinking about my financial scars. You know the ones. They sit on your credit report and remind you of what an idiot you were. Every time I run my credit report, I see old car loans, old credit card high balances, student loans, and other financial mistakes I’ve made. Even though the financial wound has healed and the balances have been paid, they still sit as big, fat scars on my report. I’ve still got a few years before most of them drop off but I kinda wish they never would. Just like the ones on my face, those scars serve to remind me of my bad decisions and I’d prefer NOT to forget them.

Next time you look at your credit report and it’s not what you’d wish it would be, you can be a little grateful for the scar. It’s a good reminder of what an idiot you were and how far you’ve come.

On a side note, the ‘great fall from bed’ as it’s now known, happened in the early morning hours on the 4th of July. We had invited guests to our home to watch the fireworks show and I spent the morning crying about my face. I sulked around the house with white bandages wrapped around my chin and nose, expecting my husband to tell me everything would be fine. He didn’t. Instead, he laughed hysterically… to tears… telling me I had the best story to share at the party. Somehow, he figured out what I needed to hear. In every party picture, I’m grinning like an idiot. Lesson? I’m a lucky girl who married a swell guy. That scar will always be my favorite.

Posted by Beks on June 13, 2011 at 8:04 PM in Life Experiences | 4 Comments »
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4 Comments

Babybluewater says:

June 14, 2011 at 11:57 am

What a great post! I’m of the same frame of mind that dings and bumps we get along the way in life are there to teach us a lesson. I’m going to blog about this today and link back to your page

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Internationalmom says:

June 14, 2011 at 2:55 pm

After laughing I found myself really lost in thought. My own dent in the end of my nose and scar on upper lip, hard earned flying over the handlebars of my bike at 6. Then those of my kids both known and unknown as they came with both physical and some emotional ( through International adoptions). It puts into perspective my irritation lately as I lamented the additional debt, I’d originally planned to have paid off last December. This mark to my numbers recieved a dent when we completed Lauren’s (6) adoption from China this last January and though did well with our adoption costs, added a lot in travel. But, what is initially a mark that reminds, in time lets you know what you’ve overcome or even accomplished.
Interesting change of perspective! : ) Thanks for the post.

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Beks says:

June 14, 2011 at 7:19 pm

Aww! Thanks to you both! Best of luck internationalmom!

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Parul says:

June 15, 2011 at 2:16 pm

Beks
I have started reading your blog recently and love your posts about day to day experiences. Loved this post about the scars and the lesson they bring to life. will mention about it in one of my own posts.

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