advertisement
-
Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
- read more
Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
- read more
-
I have this belly fat. When I laugh, it jiggles like a bowl full of jelly. Well, it’s not really fat. It’s that extra blob of skin women get after having a baby. It's a bulge that makes itself known in every shirt and blouse in my wardrobe. It's noticeable enough that I occasionally get asked if I am pregnant. My answers include: "No, just fat”, "I had my baby a year ago, this is just her leaving-the-womb present" and, "Yeah, I'm pregnant with a six-pack of tacos and too many margaritas." I’m not offended when others ask me if I’m pregnant even though I’m not. It's completely understandable. I have skinny arms, skinny legs, I'm tall, and I have this protruding blobby belly. Sometimes I do wish I could wear some of those cute tops that younger girls wear which show off their belly buttons. But trust me, no one wants to see my belly button.
A few summers ago, some woman had been sitting on the front steps of her apartment building every day for about two weeks with a clothes rack and a jumble of shoes. Every time I would ride by on my bike she would shout at me: "Come check out some of these clothes!" I took pity on her one day. She looked lonely, and, to be quite honest, I was also a little tired of getting yelled at. When I approached her, she smelled like vodka, and she looked at me like vodka. She picked up this very cute plum-colored shirt and said in her alcoholic drawl "Here! This'll look nice on you. You like this, right?"
I took a quick look at the tag only to find a giant “S” emblazoned on it. "Oh, this is small, I'm a medium to large at least. It'll never fit." She looked me up and down like a tailor. "Oh it'll fit,” she said, wafting vodka breath into the air. “Here take it. Two dollars."
Well, now, how could I have argued with that logic? I gave her a couple of bills and walked my bike, my new purple shirt, and myself on home. The tiny shirt sat on my bedroom floor for a few days until I decided to wash it. Eventually, it made itself apparent to me in my drawer. I had completely forgotten about it. "Hey," I thought to myself. "There's that drunk lady's shirt." I pulled and stretched it on, and walked out into the living room to show it off to my husband.
"Do you think this is too tight?" I asked. One thing I love about my husband is that if you ask him if you look fat, he’ll tell you if you look fat. His response: "I dunno. Looks fine to me." Well, at least I know that was exactly what he thought.
In the car on the way to work, the bottom edge of the shirt surprised me by popping up to my midsection. There was the belly fat, stretch marks and all. "See,” I said to my husband. “It is too small, isn't it?" He only shrugged. I'm sure my concern confused him.
I would estimate that after my husband dropped me off at work I pulled down the bottom of my shirt close to ten times before I actually got to my desk. Once there, I sat and worked happily with my baby belly fat hanging out to the world. Yes, the shirt was a bit too tight. For that moment, my belly was exposed. A coworker stopped in to say hello and kindly pointed out the fleshy skin resting below my shirt and above my pants.
“I love my belly fat,” I told him. “My kids gave it to me!” He looked at me, confused, and he thought about it for a second and smiled. My babies gave me fat. Okay, not fat, but they did give me bulgy skin. It’s unattractive and it forces me to be choosy about my wardrobe. But it’s mine, nonetheless. It’s part of my body, and I love my body. Therefore, I love my belly fat!
I like your post! I tell people my pot belly is from my kids as well, but in my case... it's not. I just love to eat. Pulp Fictin -- I'm thinking that scene where the girl I don't know talks about how sexy and soft pot bellies are, even if they are visually unappealing. I remember that scene, because, you know, I have a pot belly. :)I agree with moosebane. Wish I liked my body. Keep in mind Val that as you reach middle age it will become permenent. Gives you something to look forward to.Just think what a dent could be made in the whole "get skinny" industry if everyone had an attitude like you do! It's very admirable that you embrace the body your children gave you. I wish I would have been more aware of comments I made about myself when my daughter was growing up...more mommy-guilt for me. But kudos to you!
June 2013 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Tagsmotherhood (12)
school (10)
family (9)
parenting (7)
growing up (6)
fibromyalgia (5)
birthday (4)
bullies (4)
kids (4)
toddlers (4)
anxiety (3)
divorce (3)
normal (3)
stress (3)
video games (3)
accident (2)
awesome (2)
baseball (2)
brother (2)
children (2)
christmas (2)
chronic illness (2)
death (2)
er (2)
hair (2)
holidays (2)
life (2)
love (2)
money (2)
news (2)
nintendo (2)
obama (2)
presents (2)
recycling (2)
religion (2)
siblings (2)
sick (2)
son (2)
taxes (2)
tradition (2)
unemployment (2)
valentine (2)
writing (2)
9/11 (1)
acting (1)
adrenal insufficiency (1)
adult (1)
advice (1)
afentra (1)
affirmation (1)
alone (1)
american (1)
animal control (1)
animal rights (1)
april fools (1)
attacks (1)
aunt (1)
babies (1)
babysitting (1)
backyard (1)
bad day (1)
bedtime (1)
bin laden (1)
bionicle (1)
birth (1)
body (1)
bonding (1)
brothers (1)
busy mom (1)
calm (1)
car (1)
car theft (1)
car trouble (1)
carnival (1)
casey anthony (1)
caterpillars (1)
cel phone (1)
celebration (1)
celebrities (1)
changes (1)
charity (1)
chicken (1)
classroom (1)
cleanliness (1)
clothes (1)
clothing (1)
clutter (1)
co parenting (1)
co sleeping (1)
comicon (1)
community (1)
competition (1)
confession (1)
dad (1)
dating (1)
daughter (1)
dead animal (1)
deals (1)
debate (1)
debt (1)
decisions (1)
decorations (1)
depression (1)
diapers (1)
dinner (1)
disconnect (1)
diverticulitis (1)
doctor (1)
doctor who (1)
doctors (1)
dollhouse (1)
drama (1)
ds (1)
easter (1)
education (1)
election (1)
employment (1)
espresso (1)
facebook (1)
families (1)
family bed (1)
fantasy (1)
faq (1)
fat (1)
fears (1)
feminism (1)
fever (1)
fifth grade (1)
filing (1)
finances (1)
first (1)
friend (1)
fun (1)
gay (1)
gay marriage (1)
geek (1)
global (1)
goals (1)
god (1)
good moms (1)
goodbye (1)
grades (1)
graffiti (1)
gratitude (1)
groceries (1)
grown-up (1)
guns (1)
haircut (1)
halloween (1)
handmade (1)
happiness (1)
happy thoughts (1)
hard times (1)
hate (1)
high school (1)
hip (1)
holiday (1)
home (1)
home alone (1)
honesty (1)
hunger (1)
hurricane (1)
internet (1)
interviews (1)
jobs (1)
joke (1)
joplin (1)
judgement (1)
karma (1)
kcmo (1)
lake (1)
lawyers (1)
lgbtq (1)
liberal (1)
libya (1)
louisburg (1)
mini van (1)
miniature (1)
minimalism (1)
moderation (1)
momless (1)
montessori (1)
motehrhood (1)
museum (1)
nag (1)
nanowrimo (1)
neighbors (1)
new car (1)
new year (1)
new york (1)
newtown (1)
nothing (1)
novel (1)
obsession (1)
occupy wall street (1)
occupykc (1)
ogres (1)
older (1)
organizing (1)
ozarks (1)
paintball (1)
paranoia (1)
parking lot (1)
pasta (1)
peaceful (1)
pee (1)
pencils (1)
permission (1)
perspective (1)
persuasive (1)
politics (1)
positivity (1)
potty training (1)
poverty (1)
practical (1)
prayer (1)
president (1)
principles (1)
prison (1)
puberty (1)
public (1)
pumpkin patch (1)
questions (1)
raccoon (1)
radio (1)
rage (1)
rainbow (1)
real life (1)
recipe (1)
remembering (1)
renaissance festival (1)
resolutions (1)
restaurants (1)
roller coaster (1)
romney (1)
router (1)
royals (1)
sadness (1)
sahm (1)
salesmen (1)
sandwich (1)
sandy (1)
sauce (1)
self esteem (1)
serotonin (1)
sharing (1)
shooting (1)
shopping (1)
single (1)
sister (1)
sleep (1)
slumber party (1)
spaghetti (1)
sports (1)
spring (1)
spring break (1)
spying (1)
star trek (1)
star wars (1)
state fair (1)
storm (1)
style (1)
super mom (1)
superheroes (1)
tantrums (1)
teachers (1)
teaching (1)
teasing (1)
temperance (1)
ten (1)
texting (1)
thanksgiving (1)
threats (1)
three (1)
tiger mom (1)
time (1)
tired (1)
toddler (1)
tornado (1)
trash (1)
tv (1)
vacation (1)
vacuum cleaner (1)
video (1)
violin (1)
visit (1)
voting (1)
war (1)
warming (1)
wifi (1)
wohm (1)
women (1)
wow (1)
zelda (1)
zen (1)