Dear Body, We Haven’t Always Gotten Along
Dear Body, we haven’t always gotten along. As we have moved through life together, what was supposed to be a perfect unity of mind, body, and soul, has more often than not resembled the dark ages.
And while I know deep down, I am stuck with you; I sometimes believe you can somehow be morphed into what I assume is the best version of me (someone else’s body). So where do I begin?
You have gained weight at some the most vulnerable times in my life — like that one season in high school when I wanted to be one of the cool kids. You have gotten sick at times when I needed you to be healthy to enjoy an evening out or go to my best friend’s birthday party.
You have been weary and tired when I needed you most to get through one more night taking care of our sleepless baby. You fought the good fight when I so desired to fit into that swimsuit I hung on my closet door for an entire year.
You have craved salty and sweet processed foods every month, making it difficult to lose that baby weight you so generously welcomed starting the first week of those unpleasant maternity days.
I worked you hard, with countless burpees and tow taps, only to find out you had invited our friend cellulite to stay for good WITHOUT my consent.
You have become a little sloppy, especially after expanding and retracting twice to give birth to our two littles.
You constantly fight with my mind on what we can handle, making it hard to accomplish those fitness goals I make every time New Years Day rolls around.
I mean, it’s almost as though we don’t belong together. Every time my mind is made up to look like those women who have it all together, top knot and all, you don’t seem to agree.
In fact, that top knot that looks so graceful on those women, make me look like a Dr. Suess character.
But Body, as I get older, I am finally accepting that you were and always have been perfect for me. Forget the extra weight, and straw-like hair those two little angels (sometimes demons) did to us — they are the best things that ever happened to us.
Forget the stretchy stomach skin and deflated breasts that would otherwise take permanent naps on my tummy lest I coerce them back into that incredible bra we found on an infomercial.
And even though you don’t always do what I ask, you have carried me through. You were there when I got my fist ice skating medal — I couldn’t have done THAT without you.
You have given me a voice to perform and make music. You were there at the moment my babies took their first breath. You were even there when I married the most incredible man on earth.
God has given me you, and some days I get a glimpse of why that was. With maturity, I recognize that I am beautiful — mind, body, and soul — because with God’s two hands, he crafted us to be one of a kind, unique, and a precious daughter of a King.
So let’s get along from here on out. Let’s allow ourselves to enjoy this life, 10, 20, 30 lbs heavier than what we would like. Let’s enjoy our evenings and have one more glass of wine, or one more bite of dessert, instead of feeling guilty for the extra calories.
Sure, let’s work towards healthy, but also love ourselves in the process.
Let’s value the beauty in others, but at the same time not interrogate our own.
Let’s love one another, because, whether we like it or not, we will be together forever.
And when the world tells us we need to go on one more diet fad, try yet another wrinkle cream, or buy another bottle of biotin that grows thicker hair in the places we didn’t have in mind, let’s try and focus our attention on what we DO have. We have a beautiful body. Nuff said.
