Because I Love You

I share this story with pictures that have not been taken with my camera but that I've drawn on the computer because I love you.

My family is SO going to laugh at this memory.

When I was young, I discovered I had the most embarrassing humiliating deformity ever. It pained me, it consumed my every thought, it caused many many tears.

I had a freckle on my toe.

I was a freak.

Never mind that I had a bajillion freckles on my face .

My face, where people look.

It was so bad that I would cry every time my family went anywhere that involved barefootedness. Like, the beach or any other place that involved swimming. And we did that a lot during the summer.

So I did this every time.

I put a band aid over my freckle so nobody would see it. Then I would worry the whole time that the water would cause the band aid to fall off, and I would check my foot often to be sure it was still there.

(the band aid, not my foot)

One day, while in school- in the 5th grade, I looked down at my classmates foot (back when kids wore flip flops to school because our parents wouldn't sue the school for a stubbed toe) and I saw she had a little brown mark on the exact. same. toe!!

That's like, totally awesome! I thought. (it was the 80's after all) I am not alone. We can discuss our twin freckled toe and she can give me strength, she can tell me how to live life with this horrible condition!! In flip flops, no less!

So I said, "You have a freckle on your toe too?!?!?!?!"

Oh, the excitement! This bond we'd have!

"No" said she. ""My silly cat bit my toe, it's a scab."

Oh my goodness gracious, right back at being the only one in the world with the freckle on my toe.

It was a lonely existence, I tell you.

And a lonely freckle.

But then one day the lonely freckle wasn't so lonely any more.

Suddenly it wasn't just one freckle staring up at me, it was many. And just as suddenly life was okay.

Because really, what was I gonna do?

Wear a band aid on every toe? Now that's just plain silly!