Saturday

 So, little confession: the other night we were supposed to have a "date night". And we really did try. We even got a current doctor's form filled out for our fail-safe last-minute daycare in case we were not able to find a babysitter (we were not). 
But anyone with a four-year-old can tell you that it often takes far longer than anticipated to make it out of the house with a little in tow. On this night it was also raining, so the Little needed to collect her rain boots, raincoats and umbrellas, which also takes extra time.
Suffice to say that we did not make it out of the house in time to take the Little to daycare and still make it to our date night. 

But here's another confession: 
I am rarely disappointed when we are not able to make it out for an evening without the Q. In fact, I love an evening out as a family, with Q in tow. 
And that's exactly what we ended up doing. 
We went out for a sushi dinner (thank you Groupon) and spent the rest of the evening escaping the rainy weather while perusing the bookstore with Q.
 During the course of dinner, Q managed to charm a neighboring table out of the tiny paper umbrella from their special sushi platter. 
Hence, hours of free entertainment.

As you can see, her "new nose" is healing beautifully, even if not entirely healed yet. Certain parts are still swollen, and others have yet to fuse. She is no longer in any great pain, but still sensitive and sore when touched. I should also say that cleft-affected children are born with extremely problematic teeth. Teeth are uneven, with many gaps where the bone never developed, and some of the front teeth are "fused", meaning they grow at irregular rates and in irregular patterns. All teeth grow in without an even coating of enamel, resulting in many cavities and many years of extreme dental work.
But fortunately for our girl, she is confident, resilient, and (don't tell her I said it) gorgeous. Every time she asks me why people keep staring at her, I have to tell her, "Because you're pretty."

"NO, I'm NOT!' she shouts. "Tell them I'm NOT pretty." 

Sigh. 

It's a heavy burden she has to bear, this beauty of hers. She would far rather be funny, or fast, or brave. And she is all of those things too.

7 comments:

Evelyne said...

Elle a une beauté unique,la sienne. On sent la force et le courage qui l'entourent. Belle journée.

kitchu said...

Indeed, she is all of those things.

i find myself again, swiping at my eyes to ward off these pesky tears, in awe of her spirit, a smile planted on my face.

she has this effect on us.

Yoli said...

Her beauty is something she will have to make peace with and I suspect she will, when she fully understands the power of it. She has the burden of being both beautiful on the outside and on the inside.

I seldom tire of my children's company either.

Kenza said...

Oh she is just Q and that is wonderful!

kitchu said...

i was thinking that her denial of her beauty is perhaps a reflection of her humility. that is something to be admired and fostered, i should think. she is wiser than her years, recognizing perhaps that beauty truly is only skin deep.

but Yoli is right, she is blessed to have immeasurable beauty, both inside and out. but i am convinced this power in her is wielded from within.

FDChief said...

You can tell her about this conversation with Maxine.

Maxine: "Look, Daddy, I lost a tooth!" (she's kidding - it's her "cleft hole", where she's missing a tooth due to the alveolar cleft.

Daddy: "Wow! That's awesome, sweetie." (gathers her in) "Now you know that that's not really a loose tooth, right? That's from when you were a baby, and some day you will go to the dentist and get a cool new tooth to go there."

Maxine: "But I don't WANT a new tooth!"

Daddy: "No? Why is that, sweetie?"

Maxine: "Because that's my perfect thumb hole!" (she demonstrates by popping her thumb in her mouth (through the hole) and sucking contentedly.

Daddy: (speechless)

NYR croughton said...

She's such a beauty ...my nelly and I often check in on your beautiful blog...my little chinese One also has hypoplasia on her teeth resulting in lots of cavities....we got a major dressing down from the dentist yesterday and I just wanted to slap her .... ! We have found a lovely paediatric dental nurse who is all sympathy! ....she has started losing her teeth very early and her new ones are all beautiful !