I guess that 3 things per day thing didn't work out. I have found 3 things I'm so thankful for every day, but no time to post about them. O
ver the last week, I’ve thought of about a dozen blog
posts I wanted to write. One was just going to be hilarious pictures of dogs
from the internet. (that one might still happen, Dog’s deserve more internet
fanfare, everyone knows they are better than cats). Unfortunately, I’ve been crazy
busy, at work and in life, but here goes and hopefully more to follow soon!
Last weekend I went to Chelan with a group of lovely ladies
for a girl’s weekend. We camped in town and spent the days floating on a blow
up lounger, drinking way too much and soaking up rays. It was super fun, gotta
love girl time, relaxation, and some silliness thrown in (see glasses below).
Looking at the pictures got me thinking about something that’s
been on my mind for a while, which is how relative size is. Being jealous of
roommate is something that I have to constantly be mindful of. Comparing myself
to someone else will never get me anywhere good. Best to be happy in my own
skin, which I’m better at every day. The thing about that jealousy is that
there are girls that she is jealous of, and those girls are jealous of other
girls. There are girls that would love to look like me. In fact, 2 years ago, I
would have been ecstatic to look how I do now.
Take the time out of the equation and I’m still not
satisfied. I hate the photo on the left. I’m embarrassed to post it on this
blog that no one reads, let alone know that in that moment, that’s how I looked.
Now look at the photo on the right. I love that picture. It makes me proud of
how hard I’ve worked and how good I look now. Those photos were 2 hours apart.
That’s the exact same outfit. So is the problem reality? Or is the problem perception? Maybe my left side just my better side ;)
I noticed the same thing when I went to buy jeans a couple
of months ago. The size range between brands was crazy. I was anywhere from
busting the seams on a size 30 (10/12) to a svelte size 6. It depended on if it
was a juniors or a women’s, which brand, and the fit of the style of that
brand. (okay yes I bought the 6's, but based on fit, not number, I swear!) This disconnect continues across all sorts of media that we as women
consume. That women’s magazine that tells you to love our body at any shape,
also air brushes their size 0 models of any imperfection and gives you tips on
banishing your love handles for good. Are you supposed to love those love
handles? Or hate them and remove them from yourself?
When we’re not hating our bodies, we’re finding other ways
to critique ourselves, mommy wars, lean in, have it all. How about, have a
break? Take a minute, reflect on what you’re good at, worry less about what you’re
bad at. I wish that I were better at those things, but I hope that being mindful
of them is the first step to not repeating them to myself.
For now, I’m just going to keep finding the
beautiful in life, and in myself, and keep doing the best that I can. I’m trying to
be healthy and strong, so I can do fun things like tough mudder. I’m trying to
be happy and positive, and patient, a person that I would want to be around.
Mostly, I’m just always trying my best, which is always good enough.
