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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Body love (or at least like)

My friend Ellie posed a question on her blog today and specifically tagged me on Facebook to answer it. I thought it was something worth asking here too.

The question:

Will you name three things you like about your body?
A "no" answer is not acceptable. 
 
And for you smart alecks, a simple "yes" is not acceptable either. Consider it more of a directive than a question -- YOU (yes, I'm talking to you, the person reading this right now) -- name 3 things you like about your body. Ellie's rules -- "I don't mean three internal things or behaviors, I'm talking the physical.  The parts we beat ourselves up over."
 
Honestly, I came up with two right away. 
 
1. My calves -- Does that sound weird? My calves are strong and curvy. They come to a nice inward slope at my ankle. People have told me more than once that my legs (read: calves) look nice is a skirt. 
 
2. My hair -- I love the natural color. Dark brown. I loved the blue too, but I've moved on. It's thick and generally doesn't give me too much grief. Even the silver that's showing up more often doesn't bother me too much. 

The third thing I like about my body is proving to be elusive.

My boobs? Nope. Lopsided. 

My hands? Bitten fingernails and unreliable grip.

My feet? Not since I walked across fresh, searing hot asphalt with no shoes on when I was 8.

Mike always says he likes my butt. I don't really ever look at it, so I can't say yes to that. 

My stomach? Way too much of it to love, though I will give a nod of appreciation to its willingness to stretch itself to carry nearly 30 pounds of baby over the years. 

Maybe my smile. I can't think of what it looks like right now. Annie suggested my eyes. I used to like them when I could consider them blue. Now they're more greenish, depending on what I'm wearing. 

I think I have it.

3. My nose -- It's cute and smallish. When I see it on my kids faces, I always smile. Yes. I think I can definitely say I like my nose. 

So it took a while, but I did get my 3 things I like about my body. What are yours?

7 comments:

Eternal Lizdom said...

This is one that's kinda not fair. I've worked a long time to fully love myself so it's generally true that I find lots of positives over negatives on an average day.

Love my hair- the color, the style, the thickness.

Love my eyes- I think my eyes are very expressive and I like the brown tone of them.

Love my face- My face is kind an inviting. My face shares joy, pain, laughter, tears, and so much more!

Love my arms- They embrace my husband, hug my kids, allow me to pet my dogs.

Love my legs- My legs are strong and I love feeling the muscles coming back in my thighs.

Love my stomach- sure, it's squishy and pooch-y. It's where my babies grew. That means it will always be a special place.

Love my butt- I have junk in my trunk and I'm proud of that curvy side of me!

Overall, I really do love my body. The thing that leaves me so sad is that I know I'm a minority among women when it comes to body love.

Good post, Amy!

Ellen aka Ellie said...

Hm, I will admit, I don't know if I'm flattered or feeling ripped off. I'll go with the former.

:)

CWMartin said...

Actually, I can like myself without particularly liking my body. This ain't the one I'm going to heaven in anyway. How 'bout this? The heart, brain and lungs, since they're all functioning at least decently.

Amy said...

Ellie -- You should absolutely be flattered. I gave you credit for the good idea and linked to your blog!

CW -- Great perspective.

Beth Zimmerman said...

I'm with CW and I giggled at Ellie but ...

This here body is in a state of serious rebellion! Not sure I blame it since I have used and abused it for over a half century. (Gosh! I'm old!) And it's hard to be grateful for legs, hips, back and neck that have surrendered to arthritis. Still ... they carried me longer than I deserved and they haven't totally failed me yet. I am grateful!

1. Eyes - gorgeous green eyes that change colors with my mood. They tend towards a gray shade but once in a while they shift to a glorious blue.

2. Toenails ... perky and pink with little white flowers with a sparkly silver center. Yes ... it's fake and temporary but I like it!

3. Fingers ... which in spite of the carpal tunnel (to which my wrists have fallen prey) continue to function as they were designed to do allowing me to write and communicate with the whole wide world!

Ellen aka Ellie said...

Isn't it funny that we are mostly picking little parts?

My legs are strong, they've carried me for 50 years (shaving off one year since I wasn't walking yet), but I wish they were more firm (and I'm slender).

Yes, my midsection is small AND I carried my son there, but I wish it was tighter.

My butt fits in size six (some sixes) jeans, but I wish it wasn't so squishy (working on it).

My hands are lovely, but I have arthritis and one is finger is tipped.

It's too easy for me to find flaws...Yet I love my friends and don't notice theirs. I have to get over myself!

And I am flattered, but I will admit to craving a comment (word choice intentional due to your fb crave for chocolate)!

Unknown said...

Seriously? After just coming back from the beach? Ok.... I love my eyes, my wrists (because they are the smallest things I have), and my toes because they have this cool pink coloring going on down there.