Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have a child with a birth defect (cosmetic only, his has no health issues associated with it--though some people with the same issue do (Port wine stain birth mark--Sturge Weber syndrome).
I understand fully that some people might think it makes him ugly, and it breaks my heart. I still think he is gorgeous.
That just makes him all the more special and gorgeous. People can be nasty, but not everyone thinks that way.
I wouldn't think that way either, first PP. But, fwiw, my DD (age 5) also has a birth defect (also cosmetic only -- it's on her face -- she was born w/ cleft lip/cleft palate -- it's repaired, but we have many plastic surgeries still to go up until she is about 18 and her face is adult-sized) and I know exactly what you mean when you wonder what other people think. We haven't run into any negative feedback yet but I am told kids start noticing and commenting on things like this in about a few years, so I don't know how things will go when she gets older.:*( Also, we've been in the same daycare/school since she was 3, so everyone just knows her for who she is, not what she looks like, but we are starting a new school next year as she enters kindergarten, so it will be a whole new community for us. :*(
I had a good friend in high school with a scar from a cleft lip/palate...didn't slow her down one bit. Granted, I don't know what it was like for her growing up, or during the tough middle school years, but she was truly one of the funniest, most outgoing, ambitious, awesomest people I've ever known. I'm sure some of that stems from "overcoming" having a plainly visible scar like that, but she is just also a naturally wonderful, beautiful person
Anonymous wrote:The older I get the more beautiful I think almost everyone is. Sometimes I play a game on the metro where I check out people in the car and find the aspect I think is most lovely. I am actually a snide and cynical person by nature, but I think if everyone had a makeover and went on what not to wear, we'd almost all be beautiful.
Me, too. And I don't think "extreme makeover," y'know? Often the most appealing part of a person is her ethnic nose, something that makes her different.
It is weird to rave to other people about the beauty of your own children.
Me three! And I agree, "what I look for" is what makes people unique, which rarely = conventionally attractive. Same with children.
And on a snarkier note, although I enjoy finding beauty and all, "making over" folks in my imagination in D.C. is almost too easy in the sense that this has got to be one of the worst dresed cities in the U.S.
When I look back at pictures of my kid I realize she had cuter phases and...well...less cute ones. But at the time of the less cute ones? I thought she was the most adorable creature on earth. Still do.
They'll always be beautiful to their mama.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have a child with a birth defect (cosmetic only, his has no health issues associated with it--though some people with the same issue do (Port wine stain birth mark--Sturge Weber syndrome).
I understand fully that some people might think it makes him ugly, and it breaks my heart. I still think he is gorgeous.
That just makes him all the more special and gorgeous. People can be nasty, but not everyone thinks that way.
I wouldn't think that way either, first PP. But, fwiw, my DD (age 5) also has a birth defect (also cosmetic only -- it's on her face -- she was born w/ cleft lip/cleft palate -- it's repaired, but we have many plastic surgeries still to go up until she is about 18 and her face is adult-sized) and I know exactly what you mean when you wonder what other people think. We haven't run into any negative feedback yet but I am told kids start noticing and commenting on things like this in about a few years, so I don't know how things will go when she gets older.:*( Also, we've been in the same daycare/school since she was 3, so everyone just knows her for who she is, not what she looks like, but we are starting a new school next year as she enters kindergarten, so it will be a whole new community for us. :*(

(Though I don't talk about that, of course!) People often say she's the cutest thing ever, but I really think they mean her charm.The older I get the more beautiful I think almost everyone is. Sometimes I play a game on the metro where I check out people in the car and find the aspect I think is most lovely. I am actually a snide and cynical person by nature, but I think if everyone had a makeover and went on what not to wear, we'd almost all be beautiful.
Me, too. And I don't think "extreme makeover," y'know? Often the most appealing part of a person is her ethnic nose, something that makes her different.
It is weird to rave to other people about the beauty of your own children.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have a child with a birth defect (cosmetic only, his has no health issues associated with it--though some people with the same issue do (Port wine stain birth mark--Sturge Weber syndrome).
I understand fully that some people might think it makes him ugly, and it breaks my heart. I still think he is gorgeous.
That just makes him all the more special and gorgeous. People can be nasty, but not everyone thinks that way.

Anonymous wrote:The older I get the more beautiful I think almost everyone is. Sometimes I play a game on the metro where I check out people in the car and find the aspect I think is most lovely. I am actually a snide and cynical person by nature, but I think if everyone had a makeover and went on what not to wear, we'd almost all be beautiful.