On Birthmarks

I have an oval-shaped birthmark about the size of an extra-large egg on my leg. The mark resides on the side of my left thigh, approximately an inch above my knee. It is an opaque chestnut color, contrasting distinctly against my fair skin, but nowhere near as pigmented as a freckle. Its border isn’t flawless, but the bumpy edges ebb and flow subtly, like the surface of a spring cloud. Fourteen deeply pigmented freckles litter its interior like the pricks of a ballpoint pen.

Science defines birthmarks as congenital, benign irregularities on the skin. They are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocytes, smooth muscle, fat, fibroblasts, or keratinocytes.

My mother told me that my birthmark is God’s thumb. More specifically, his thumbprint. The fable goes that God placed his thumb on my thigh while I was in the womb. According to her, it’s a blessing. I used to place my itty-bitty pre-adolescent thumb over the birthmark and analyze the remaining brown skin. As a little girl, all I thought was, God has a big thumb.

In the West, it is believed that babies get birthmarks because their mothers consumed too much coffee or chocolate during pregnancy. Other explanations claim that birthmarks shaped like food were the direct result of the mother’s pregnancy cravings. My mother’s coffee addiction lends these theories merit.

My first memories of bullying stem from the birthmark. My elementary school peers weren’t so convinced about the “God’s thumbprint” explanation. In fact, they didn’t believe it was even a birthmark. To them, it was a coffee stain. I don’t know for a fact who started that rumor, but it must have been Ryan Mead. Some classmates liked to tease me about the coffee stain, often trying to wipe it off with tissues, fabric, and erasers. I would cry and staunchly defend my blessing. In secret, they would all ask to compare their thumb to it. Ryan especially.

Spaniards and Arabs believe birthmarks are lucky, and if you touch them, they will fulfill your desires. I really hope they were wrong on this one because my fifth-grade bullies don’t deserve to get their desires fulfilled.

After school one day, my mother caught me coloring over the birthmark with a magic marker. I whined that I wanted to get rid of it because “it’s weird”. That’s when she told me,

“Never hide what makes you different because that is what makes you special.”

Then she showed me photos of Marilyn Monroe and Cindy Crawford famously rocking birthmarks on their faces. And yes, moles are technically birthmarks.

Years later I got a coffee cup tattooed above the birthmark. The cup is angled ever so slightly that it creates the illusion of coffee pouring out of a cup. Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t yet developed the sense to avoid a business offering buy-one-get-one tattoos and now I’m frequently asked why I have a teacup on my leg. When I explain that it’s a coffee cup and I placed it above my birthmark to emulate spilling coffee, I always get a nice laugh, sometimes they hit me with a “You’re clever!” I love it every time.

In some Native American traditions, leg birthmarks indicate that a person is capable of wisdom beyond their years.

Other names for birthmarks include café au lait spot, stork bite, angel’s kiss, salmon patch, and port-wine stain.

My pediatrician would check the birthmark during yearly physicals. She would analyze changes in size, color, shape, and border. At the end of the appointment, Dr. Ruby would turn to my mother and mouth keep an eye on that. So, I always did.

Birthmarks are mostly harmless, but some increase your risk of skin cancer.

My grandfather claims that my late grandmother, whom I am named after, had the exact same birthmark in the exact same spot as mine.

In the Orient and India, birthmarks have been linked to past lives.

At the Fairfield County Fair, a psychic told me that my birthmark was a portal allowing demons into my life and for only $500 she could do the spiritual work to get rid of it. I had to risk the demons.

During the Salem Witch Trials, birthmarks were considered a mark of the devil. They were taken as proof of witchcraft.

So, what is a birthmark?

I’ve been blessed and cursed, lucky and misfortunate. I’ve connected to some of my ancestors but still have no idea who others are. I’ve been wise and I’ve been dumb.

Perhaps all the theories are true.