Raw,Pink,Tender: New

Recently my  son experienced a skin burn to his face! Right in the cheek area, a big round 2 square inch burn. Naturally burns can be significant alterations to our skin, opening to infections in the healing process as well as scarring. So, like any mother my concerns were heightened with the uncertainty and awareness of potentials. Without being a helicopter I softly (not wanting to add to my son's own anxiety about the situation) diligently monitored the progress of the process of healing. As we both attempted to keep the skin clean there was no way of bandaging it so it was a wide open seen process...........

When the new layers of skin started generating I prodded to peel them away. No, my son argued, that's the new skin, why would I want to take it off? I don't want to peel it off, it's going to hurt and start all over again! Yes, I can understand your resistance, however, It's A Part of The Process of Healing. You see the new skin is good and healthy however, it is well, New, undeveloped, thinner, temporary cover, not necessarily the final skin you want to create. So,  you remove it, to strengthen it, let it bring in another Newer, stronger layer. Repeating this several times. But Mom, why is it soooo pink? Is it going to stay this way?

Well, you see it's New, it's healing, it's tender and fresh and well, the pigments are not yet the stronger more resilient skin like the rest of your face. Uhm, I don't really know if it will stay THIS pink, it may not even be noticeable when it's finished healing, or it might be slightly discolored, a little more white, and it may not re freckle and well, maybe we should just keep taking care of it and let it be..........

You see, everyday, your skin sheds layers naturally and relayers and you never even notice and sometimes it looks a little different than the other day but really so subtly that, well you never really see the difference though it is different. So once we reached the initial danger zone of healing, I peeked at the progress without his noticing. The progress is still pink, still evolving, still noticeable. Hoping for just a trace on his face - we will just have to let it be what it will be...........

I'm grateful that the healing process is moving along without major set backs or redo or or or, but it is now on it's own pace, face altered but unsure of the lasting trace. Healing is a lifetime experience, layers and stages , seen and unseen, results unknown, factors uncontrollable, desires in thought. Time frame self contained unfolding naturally. Focus waning.

Our lives are filled daily with the process of healing. Multi layered, multidimentional, subtle and radical, seen and unseen healing. Raw, Pink, Tender, New...