I will be the first to admit that I have suffered from a poor body image complex. All through high school I thought I was fat and my larger-than-average breasts earned me all kinds of nick names (most notably, Knockers.) Yeah. I have looked at pictures of myself as I have aged and um...grown and always made jokes and felt disgusted. But looking back on my teen-age years I realize I wasn't fat. I was a normal girl that had curves. Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, curves. My high school sweetie, who is now my BunBun always told me and still does, that I'm beautiful. Why do we not listen to those around us who tell us these things? Is it because they tell us positive things about our bodies and such, but look negatively at themselves? Do we continue to do this with our own children? I know that there have been many times I have told my children they are beautiful, aren't fat, etc. while saying the exact opposite about myself.
I do have a more positive self image than I did in high school. I have learned to appreciate and love the curves God has given me. My husband tells me I am beautiful inside and out and...let's be honest here...loves my body too. Well, it's time to do my part to promote positive self body image. Here goes folks....like it or not, this is me. And I'm beautiful.
At our wedding rehearsal
Wedding day with my beautiful mom
My beautiful daughter Callie helping me put on makeup
Yep...
A month after we got married...moving in to our "new" place
Yeah...Maisey is thrilled...Not!
These are my calves, which I may or may not have referred to in the past as "full-grown cows" and "turkey drumsticks." But they help me climb stairs and hills like no body's business.
So what brought all this on? Did I watch one too many Dove soap commercials promoting real women and true beauty? Did I watch one too many episodes of Intervention featuring anorexic and bulimic girls? Nope. I read the blog
Mom Tried It and her post about the image we have and promote to our children and others around us. Kim hit the nail on the head and said what she had to say so succinctly. She has a blog hop going on. Go check it out if you are interested.
And look in the mirror and tell yourself you are beautiful. It's true, you know.
I went and read the blog you mentioned in your post and I left a comment there as well. I don't think I dislike my body - I dislike what I have done to my body and it isn't healthy. God wants us to be good stewards of EVERYTHING including taking care of ourselves. When the "weight" issue comes up with my kids it is letting them know that they have to take care of their bodies because of being healthy, not because they will "look" better... I hope this makes sense...
ReplyDeleteYou are beautiful! I love the post. Thank you so much for participating. This took a lot of courage. I am so honored that you took part in this with me. It is so hard to put yourself out there like this, emotionally and physically. You did a great job.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you looked radiant on your wedding day. :-)
You were a beautiful bride, and you look like you're just beaming with love and joy in that shot of your new house! Beautiful family too!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! Beautiful wedding picture with your mom. Your are beautiful, and I so agree that we need to have a healthy image of us.... to pass on to our kids! They do listen and hear what we say about ourselves, and then they repeat it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story about body image! I'm currently hosting Yummy Mummy Week- a week of featured bloggers and giveaways about Motherhood. I'm also hosting a bloghop about and asking moms to share their stories, mommyfessions and photos of motherhood and body image. I'd love it if you'd submit your atticle to the blog hop and if you like what you see tell your readers about it..
ReplyDelete-Jenn
www.mydeliciousambiguity.com/
Thanks so much for linking up to my blog hop! Have a great day!
ReplyDelete