I'm not thin. That's probably an understatement. I'm sturdy and strong. I can heft fifty pound bags of chicken feed through the store. I can carry lumber and push wheelbarrows full of rock or dirt. Think of me more like a big, rusty truck rather than a pretty little convertible or a functionable but attractive minivan. Not little. Not thin. Sturdy.
It's been my goal for years and years to lose weight. I'm pretty sure every on-the-fluffy side gal can relate. Whether it was before school started, before the holidays, after the first of the year or before bathing suit season ... there has always been some goal in my mind. And then I had daughters. The last thing I wanted for my daughters was for them to think they had to measure up to some crazy standard. So I stopped talking about my weight or my size goals or even what eating plan I was trying. I never wanted them to climb onto that hamster wheel so I just quietly walked off it as well.
When they were younger they never said things like 'I'm so fat' or 'I'm on a diet' that I've heard little girls say. They just didn't have a box for that. They just were them. If Mommy was eating cucumbers and hummus for lunch, that's what they wanted. If Mommy was going to an exercise class, they wanted to go. If Mommy ate too many cookies, chances are they did too. So if my goal for them is not that they are the perfect size, but that they just learn to be themselves then I had to just be myself. I just did what I thought was the best thing for me and for my family. My little shadows notice and copy everything I do. Even if I never fit back into my wedding dress or qualify as 'average' size, I'm not going to stop trying. Because those little shadows? They grow up. And they notice even more.
So I walk every morning,even when my feet hurt. And we wrap up school early on a beautiful day to go on a hike even if I'm tired. I shovel out the chicken coop or haul buckets of water out to the pigs. I mow the lawn and use the weed-trimmer around our very large yard. I don't ever want my girls to ever think that their Momma just gave up and decided to be not-thin. My example isn't just by what I don't say, it's in everything I do.
I might not be thin and we don't eat a perfectly healthy diet but we live the life God gave us in the bodies He created. It's not about how I look any more for me. Maybe that just comes with getting older! It's about being able to complete the work I have to do each day and being a good steward of what He's given me. I keep moving. I work hard. And I keep trying. That's what I want my girls to learn.
It's been my goal for years and years to lose weight. I'm pretty sure every on-the-fluffy side gal can relate. Whether it was before school started, before the holidays, after the first of the year or before bathing suit season ... there has always been some goal in my mind. And then I had daughters. The last thing I wanted for my daughters was for them to think they had to measure up to some crazy standard. So I stopped talking about my weight or my size goals or even what eating plan I was trying. I never wanted them to climb onto that hamster wheel so I just quietly walked off it as well.
When they were younger they never said things like 'I'm so fat' or 'I'm on a diet' that I've heard little girls say. They just didn't have a box for that. They just were them. If Mommy was eating cucumbers and hummus for lunch, that's what they wanted. If Mommy was going to an exercise class, they wanted to go. If Mommy ate too many cookies, chances are they did too. So if my goal for them is not that they are the perfect size, but that they just learn to be themselves then I had to just be myself. I just did what I thought was the best thing for me and for my family. My little shadows notice and copy everything I do. Even if I never fit back into my wedding dress or qualify as 'average' size, I'm not going to stop trying. Because those little shadows? They grow up. And they notice even more.
So I walk every morning,even when my feet hurt. And we wrap up school early on a beautiful day to go on a hike even if I'm tired. I shovel out the chicken coop or haul buckets of water out to the pigs. I mow the lawn and use the weed-trimmer around our very large yard. I don't ever want my girls to ever think that their Momma just gave up and decided to be not-thin. My example isn't just by what I don't say, it's in everything I do.
I might not be thin and we don't eat a perfectly healthy diet but we live the life God gave us in the bodies He created. It's not about how I look any more for me. Maybe that just comes with getting older! It's about being able to complete the work I have to do each day and being a good steward of what He's given me. I keep moving. I work hard. And I keep trying. That's what I want my girls to learn.
:)
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I have three sons, and I would say exactly the same thing. I keep moving, we try to eat healthy, I try to not complain about how I look or my extra pounds when they are in ear shot. I gave up on fighting my gray hair and refuse to color it away. I don't want my boys to develop an idea that true beauty is a certain size or weight or hair color. I want them to grow up and cherish their wives no matter what happens when age begins to creep up on them. I pray for their future wives to not be obsessed with the cultural trends of what true beauty is. I think your example for your girls is amazing! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Tracey. I can't even imagine how hard it is to raise boys with a realistic understanding of healthy women. Kudos to you! Your sons are blessed!
ReplyDeleteLove you friend!
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