Day 15: Injuries and Illnesses

You know that scene in Jaws where the guys compare scars? I've had a few conversations like that, where you sit around and share your stories of illnesses and injuries, trying to top each other with shocking or cringe-inducing details. My family is actually a little bit crazy in this department. It's not all that unusual for me to get a text in the family chat with a picture of a cousin's misshapen forehead due to a giant purple goose egg, or my brother sending a photo of his bloody mouth all, "Hey guys, just got hit in the face with a line drive. Headed to the emergency dentist now."

For today's journal entry, we are going to collect all of our stories of injuries and illnesses. You could:

-Make a list of your own incidents, starting as early as you can remember, which for me begins with vague images of sitting on my mom's lap with a bloody wound on my hand that resulted in a scar I show off frequently.

-Write about injuries and illnesses from your family lore, like that time I couldn't resist picking off my sister's chicken pox scab, leaving a scar that is still visible today. (Again, sorry about that.)

-If you have children, you could write about their experiences, which are of course your experiences as well. My mom always said that she was good in a crisis, could handle the sight of blood, etc., but as soon as she knew her kid was out of danger, the stress hit her and she felt like she might pass out.

Here's one of my stupidest injuries. I was dancing to loud music, alone in the kitchen, and I accidentally scratched my own forehead, resulting in a little Harry Potter scar. It's kind of ridiculous to answer people's "what happened?" with "I flailed my arms too wildly while kitchen dancing."