A Thank You to My Body

Recently I was reading a blog by one of my favorite local moms. She is someone I greatly admire for both her writing ability and her bravery in telling the story of her life. I’ve also met her personally and she is just the kind of kickass mom I enjoy being around and I strive to be myself.

So I was really stunned when I read her confession that every time she ate she felt guilty. EVERY TIME SHE ATE! Didn’t matter if the food was healthy, she still felt guilty. Now, maybe that was hyperbole. It probably was. Still, it made me sad. Sad because she is a beautiful person inside and out and sad because, if I’m honest with myself, I identified with what she said.

I’ve talked on here before about my own internal struggles with weight and body acceptance. It’s a battle almost all women deal with. Societal pressures are such that it’s a hard issue to ignore. It doesn’t matter how awesome we are at our job, or how together we are with our mom and wife duties. We still think constantly about our bodies. Are we thin enough? Too thin? Sexy enough? Too sexy? Add to all that, pregnancy and what it does to your body and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. I saw in this woman’s post something inside myself that I did not like.

What I saw was a hatred of a body that has been nothing but good to me. I don’t suffer from any ongoing or terminal diseases. I’m not abnormal looking in any way and I wake up most mornings feeling good (tired but good) and healthy.

So in gratitude to a body that has been so generous to me, I’d like to say “Thanks”.

Thank You for holding up under some extraordinary pressure (skiing with no lessons that one time in college comes to mind).

Thanks for not pooping out on me yet despite the sometimes abysmal things I’ve done to you.

Thank You for the child you had a part in creating and then nurtured and nourished for ten months.

Thank You for almost 37 years of running, laughing, crazy adventures and a lifetime of excitement.

So that’s my Thank You note. What does your Thank You note look like?

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Rocket City Mom

Rocket City Mom is a website about raising children in and around Huntsville, Alabama. Started in late 2010 by a local mom and newcomer to Huntsville, Rocket City Mom has grown into a thriving community of local parents and now boasts a staff of four, thirteen regular contributors, and tens of thousands of Tennessee Valley readers making it the #1 Parenting Resource in North Alabama.