Monday, April 19, 2010

My Earth Birthday

So here I am about to complete 53 revolutions around the sun (four days ‘til my birthday!) And I must say it feels like I’ve already lived two lives since 1957! *dynamic* Let’s count age 0 to 20 (when I first got married) as my first life, and then the 24 years of marriage (to the wrong man, hence the divorce) and raising two sons as my second life… which brings us to my third life – a fabulous one, thank you very much – presently manifesting as we speak… or… type... or… virtualize… as the case me be! *cosmic*

My childhood was filled with tons of innocent, old-fashioned fun – my sibs and I played outside a lot (no electronic gizmos beyond corded phones, radios, simple stereo turntables, 8-tracks, and UHF/VHF TVs had been invented yet!) Are corded phones even considered electronic devices? Anyway, the reason it feels like a separate life is because of my physical circumstance at birth, and the subsequent situations I encountered along the way. You know how it is with us humans – we don’t really start to become conscious of the details of our personal appearance until a few years into having established Earthling status on the planet. *evolving* But we certainly can get an idea of how others are perceiving us way before we place importance on “rockin’ a look” in the mirror now and then. And so it was with me… as a little girl… going into the city with my grandmother—who was always primped and polished (like classy women in the black & white movies from the ‘50s)… we’d be holding hands, walking along a crowded sidewalk (me making eye contact at the level of women’s dress hems and knee-level of men’s trousers!) and then we would enter – fill-in-the-blank – store, or office building. Now, the thing is, whenever I was with my grandmother (we called her Nonni) I felt good about myself—Nonni and I always looked our best whenever we went downtown Chicago together! So I didn’t understand (nor did I like it) when a grown-up would peer down at me and bellow something like, “Hey kid, where’d ya get that fat lip? Someone punch you in the face?” *ouch* No. No one ever punched me in the face. At such a tender age, I had no idea why someone would hurt my feelings for no apparent reason. Nonni was on it every time (yeah, it happened more than once – ignorant people are everywhere)… she would instantly and effectively put the rude jerk in his place. *champion*

Now you’re probably wondering what congenital defect I was born with, so I’ll tell you (no mysteries here)… but not yet. First, let me present my Italian-American ancestry… in a nutshell! *apt* I promise you this will be very brief, so don’t blink: My family tree is huge – I’ve got umpteen aunts and uncles, and dozens of cousins – lineage from two separate regions of Italy: Tuscany and Calabria (no inbreeding)… and out of the whole kinship group I’m the only one to have been born with a cleft lip! *special* Specifically, left unilateral cleft lip, to be anatomically correct. Oh, and to clarify, neither of my sons… or grandson were born with it. Oral-facial clefts are one of the most common major birth defects… and are totally treatable! *thankfully* But most of the time the cause is not known. In my case, I’m going with: harmful side-effect of prescription meds during the first two months of my “womb & bored” (no EPTs back then!) Although my mom stopped the meds as soon as she found out she was pregnant, apparently it was too late. *oh, well*

It’s next to impossible for a newborn with cleft lip to suckle well enough to thrive, so extra care and attention is necessary (and extra money, too) to nurture said infant until he/or she weighs enough to safely undergo corrective surgery. Fortunately for me, my dad’s medical insurance covered the corrective surgeries (five in total) that were required to repair the initial cleft when I was a baby, and then continue to reconstruct at intervals as I grew (scar tissue would form – causing a fat lip!) Each surgery was done as in-patient under general anesthesia (serious stuff) and the hospitals had strict visitation rules… my parents weren’t even allowed to stay with me! *scary* I soldiered on beyond my fears (snuck in a transistor radio and hid it under my pillow!) And by the time of my last surgery (Spring break during sophomore year of H.S.) I had my first boyfriend… and he would visit me in the hospital. *sweet* You see, the only people who were ever rude to me were adults of yesteryear. *bullies* Not one family member, or any of my peers made any derogatory remarks – they totally see and accept me as a whole person – we relate as inner beings too. *happily*

One of the best organizations on the planet that help children born with cleft lip… and make this world of ours a better place, is Operation Smile. Here’s a link to their website that you can copy/paste into your search browser http://tinyurl.com/nfpkrk where my book, Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! is available for purchase as part of an ongoing online fundraiser to support this bona fide worthy cause. It is a place where your spending power can help to literally put a smile on the face of another human being... and probably your own, too!

Have a fabulous week! I’ll be back here Monday ☺

~peace~

1 comment:

  1. You know I never even realized, the Laurie I knew never showed any signs of any "defect" at all. She was and still is a warm caring person who will always be my BFF. With Aloha

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