It was that time of the day again.

Unlike the five to six p.m., witching hour when kids go insane due to a) lack of food, b) overstimulation, c) boredom, or d) the usual need for attention: the discussion of wounds usually begins upon school pick-up.

“Mimi!” I scream when I see her walk out of her classroom. At seven, she still lets me give her a big hug.

“Mama,” she’ll say pulling away, her face scrunched into seriousness. No jokes. No asking what she learned (not that wants to share that anyway).  No. None of the above.

It’s Scar Time!

Mimi pulls up her dress to reveal the latest mark to add to her vast collection of scrapes, cuts and other wounds.

This is followed by a long, very detailed cause of said scar. Most often it is a fall.

“Did you cry, baby?” I ask with concern.

If it’s a big, one, sometimes she does. Mostly, she holds it in. “I wanted to but I didn’t,” she says proudly.

“Brave girl!” I say.

Then she reveals to me in intense detail, complete with recreations, of how it all happened. She will hold up the scar, even if this means contorting her body, and hoisting the dented body part an inch from my eyes.

It is terribly important that I SEE it. So close, how could it be missed? It’s practically in 3-D.

Like watching geese gather, often children spilling out of other classes will notice her demonstration and come running over to see the wounds, or, rather, medals.

Then, of course, the other kids are compelled to roll up their sleeves, lift their shirts and tug on pant legs to share – and compare -- their bruises.

There can be competition.

“Mine is so much redder than yours.”

“You wouldn’t believe the blood that came out of that cut.”

“I almost had to go to the hospital.”

“I DID go to the hospital.”

“I went to the hospital and got stitches!!!”

Clear winner! Clear winner!

Scars – nature’s tattoos for kids.

By Dawn Yun

Labels: bruises., By Dawn Yun, children's scars, scrapes

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