While eating dinner the other night Jaron asked me if I had any "old pictures" of him. I said of course I have thousands! He said "you know with my cleft lip." I said yeah why? He said he wanted to show his friends at school. Are you having show and tell? No. Did someone ask you about your mouth? No, I just want to show my friends. So I sent a text to his teacher asking if I could come in and tell the class about Jaron's cleft lip and bring pictures.
She said SURE! So I scrambled trying to get my hands on a book for children about clefts. There are several out there but I couldn't get one fast enough because I planned to go to the school the next day. So like usual I waited around to the last minute and didn't get anything prepared so I grabbed his baby book and rushed out the door. Thank God I had that made! I make all their baby books because I like to create my own pages for them on the computer with the things we like to remember. So all the pages are in clear protective sheets and I had tons of pictures of him.
I got there
a few minutes fashionably late. :-D Mrs. Smathers asked me to sit down in her rocking chair and she wanted to record me. She first reminded the class how they had been talking about "then & now" and how things change over time. (that explains him wanting to bring baby pictures) So I started by telling the kids I had a surprise to tell them about Jaron. I asked if anyone had ever seen a baby with a cleft lip. And they all said no. So I turned his baby book around to reveal the picture of Jaron on the front. They were all very curious.
I began by telling them to feel their top lip and notice the little dip (cupids bow). I told them that is where our faces grow together in our mommy's belly. Well Jaron's didn't finish growing in my belly. So when he came out he got special squeezable bottles and went on 23 airplanes to go to the Children's Hospital and get surgery. While I was talking Jaron is passing out pictures from his baby book. He was not shy and I was so happy to see him confident in himself. Then I told the kids to feel the roof in their mouth with their tongue. I said Jaron had a hole there and the doctors had to make him a roof in his mouth. I asked Jaron to open up and show them and he did!
One little girl asked "why did he look like that?" I told her that God makes us all special. Some of you have red hair, brown hair or blonde hair. Some have blue eyes, green eyes or brown eyes. I said well Jaron is special because God gave him a cleft lip. That was it noone had any more questions. I of course expected it to be a lot harder to explain. But they are kindergarteners...I kept it simple and they understood. My last statement was "If you learn one thing today I want you to always remember to never make fun of a person because they look different." He almost cried when I left. He wanted me to stay but I had to go. I left Justus at home with my mom (1st time I had ever left him with anyone).
His teacher sent me a text that night saying how good it was and she was very pleased. I got the book I ordered in the mail 2 days later and he took it to school today and read it to the class. "A Special Smile"
