Women + Bodies.
A love/hate relationship.
I've heard so many people talk about how amazing the body is. Look what it does. Working together, each piece doing its part. But how many hours have I spent wishing this part or that one were something else? Thinner. Stronger. More beautiful.
Every once in awhile my kids will say something that opens my eyes. Something that lets me know that in their mind, I don't need to be thinner, stronger or more beautiful...they don't even notice those sorts of things. Not really.
And it makes me wonder why I can't see myself through their loving eyes...
To them, these arms, which I've called flabby and weak...
...hold them when they're frightened, rub their backs when they're sick, carry them when they're weary.
In their mind, these hands, hands that so often I've looked at and thought why can't you be prettier...longer fingers, stronger nails...
...feed them, clothe them and teach them how to paint.
In their minds, this lop-sided smile, the one that shows my crooked teeth...
...tells them I love them, I'm happy with them, they make me so proud...
And this body...this body that never fails to torment me...
...has brought each one of them into this world and continues to nurture them, one by one.
If I'm on a search for anything in 2011, it's peace with my own self. My body. My shortcomings. I want to honor ALL the gifts God's given me, including the house my soul lives in...And it's easy for me to honor the creative gifts, they define me...but this body hang up? It's time to put that thing to rest.
...Somehow.
Joining in with Emily and the others today at Imperfect Prose.
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