Clubbed Thumb Club

Isaac Newton is quoted as saying the following about the thumb….

“In want of other proofs, the thumb would convince me of the existence of a God; as without the thumb the hand would be a defective and incomplete instrument….

A few years ago my teen aged daughter asked… Dad, did I inherit my clubbed thumb from you? I said although my thumbs are big I think yours came from God.

Any parent of teens knows that body image is a real focus for that age group…especially girls. If they are feeling down about themselves they are more likely to focus on negative comparisons between their bodies and what they see as ‘ideal’ bodies. So, when you sensed this type of conversation brewing, it is best to focus on positives whenever and where ever possible.

My Response

Ya know….The cool thing about thumbs is….where as fingers need to learn their jobs to perform very basic functions like typing on a keyboard, thumbs know their jobs right from birth and a clubbed thumb is a super thumb that can grab and squeeze much harder than the average thumb.

Besides …only 4% of the population have clubbed thumbs and they are a sign of royalty. It’s a fact that clubbed thumbs are more common in royal European blood-lines than in the general population and was even used as a factor in determining the royal blood line. So, yes ….you’re a member of the clubbed thumb princess club.

Positive Thumb Language

Thumbs also represent a number of positive expressions like satisfaction or approval. Things like:

I’m OK, Your OK …Great Job… Yes!….. You Look Great…….Awesome….. Let’s Go and We Did It!

The interpretations are endless but they are all affirming (unless Roman style pointing upside down)…

Newton postulated that the thumb is necessary for a hand to function as it does, so therefore God must have had a purpose when he designed it. I believe the purpose was for us to see the value in our differences. The differences that especially help us work better together like the thumb helps the fingers. As a special feature our thumbs can also be used to communicate, congratulate, acknowledge and reward one another… and so I suggest that the most fertile and the most brilliant mind can only conclude that the thumb is a gift. I’d like to think that my daughters clubbed thumbs were meant for special hands that touch hearts, open minds and shapes futures together…. Can I get a Thumbs Up?