HitchDied

Loving My Body

| 10 Comments

This post is part of the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival.

Today is Love Your Body Day, and I do love mine, not just today but every day.

I love my long legs. They look crazy sexy stretched out in front of me.  They make me tall enough to reach all the cabinet shelves in our house.  They let me walk and run and dance.

I love the stretch marks on my thighs, because they are proof I’ve changed size, so I never have to worry that I imagined that. I love the bizarre prickly sensation that shoots up my legs when I run my fingers along them.

I love my stomach, even though its the flabbiest part of me, and the first place I grow when I gain weight.  No matter what it looks like, I love how rock solid it feels when I contract those muscles (thank you, Pilates!).  I love that I have been photographed a few times with lighting and posing that suggest I have what Sweet Dee calls “side abs.”  I love that despite these claims to flat tummy-ness, I can pinch off a whole handful of fat and loose skin, and even at my scary thinnest I my stomach would roll whenever I sat down. This makes me feel stealthy somehow.

And I REALLY love my stomach stomach, like the internal organ kind.  And my whole digestive system, for that matter.  Marrying a Jew has reminded me how lucky I am to hardly ever experience indigestion.  Keep up the good work, Old Ironsides [yes, my stomach has the same nickname as the USS Constitution.]

I love my boobs. I still miss my DDs, but what is left is still pretty fabulous.  And now I don’t have to sleep in a bra, which is a plus.

I love the big mole on my left side that fish always bite when I swim in lakes in a bikini.  I love the crazy long hair that grows inside of it that I get to pull out about three times a year.

I love the three pink warts on my chest that form an isosceles triangle, because they match the triangle of freckles Collin has on the same place on his body.

I love how you can sort of make out muscle definition in my arms, but I love more that I’m stronger than I look.

I love my expressive face, even though it makes me suck at poker.

I love my big eyes. I love that those eyes squint up super tight when I’m grinning my biggest.  I love the tiny semi-circle of green poking through the brown of my left iris.  I love my eyelashes, which when properly handled look fake.

I love the dimple in my cheek that becomes a crater when I smile.

I love the scar through my left eyebrow.  I like having a distinguishing mark.  And I like being in the same badass club as Marlon Brando and Spike.

I love whatever it is about my bone structure that has convinced people I’m allowed to have the haircut I have.

All of this is to say that my body is gorgeous, and I love it for that.  But I want to be clear that isn’t the only reason I love my body.  I love my body even when it is being bad to me, when my skin cracks and scales and drives me crazy with itching.  I love my body even though my hamstrings are pathetically inflexible and my right thumb gets sore after even light typing.  My body is allowed to have faults and still be loved.

Because we’re REALLY married, my body and me, and there’s no possibility of divorce.  I can’t even cheat on my body.  I am stuck with it to the end.  Talk about your “in sickness and in health,” huh?  if there’s ever a case for “love the one you’re with,” its when it comes to body love.  Who wants to spend all their time with something they don’t love?  Not this chick.

So I love my body, and I try to be nice to it, and I hope it loves me back by staying healthy.

What do you love about your body?

 

 

 

10 Comments

  1. Great post, and great initiative, the Love your Body day.
    I love my legs, long and curvy. I love my dark brown eyes, my smile, my arms and my rather small boobs that can look great with a proper bra. I love my abs that you can sometimes see even though I never trained. And I love my brain for keeping the rest functioning for controlling it all.
    You know… and I also love when THIS happens. I think Jung called it synchronicity. You see, I wasn’t even aware fo this Love your Body day until you linked it (thanks), and still, by luck, chance, coincidence… I happen to write a post on that exact subject yesterday (actually was meaning to email you since I linked you in that post). Funny , incredible, amazing huh?
    And I love your writing.

  2. I love my triceps. I worked really hard for them and I still remember the first time I discovered them and had to ask my husband what is that, and he said muscle. Yes! I have short legs and a REALLY long waist – I love it. It makes me look thiner than I am. I too love my boobs; they make me feel like a woman.
    Thanks for doing this!

  3. I LOVE YOUR TUSSY!

  4. Old Ironsides! I’m going to steal this, I think. I too have a wonderful stomach.

  5. I love this. For me, I love how, when I’ve been treating it right, my body can carry me fast and smooth, wherever I want to go. It likes to move, even if the whole package is compact and strong-looking, more like a Shetland pony than a greyhound. I also love the soft fuzz on my cheeks and forearms, which makes me feel “peachy” all year round.

  6. I love this and am so sad I missed it on my own blog! (Not that I’m anywhere near an “official” blogger, but it’s such a great thing.) Your post is so fantastic and detailed and personal. As always. Thank you!

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  8. I love this! I’m not sure if ‘laugh’ is part of your body (vocal cords? brain?) but I love your laugh so much. Not just because its sluttiness helps my various pursuits, but it’s also the sound of you (and me) being happy. And I love your ability to laugh through a lot of what life has given you.

    I loved both your and Addi’s entry, so I commented over on her site about my pale skin/dark hair combo. That I try to like it more and more (though I hate, hate, hate the neverendingness of hair removal) because of the reminder of who I am. That I am Fudor and Stephenson and they were so very different. And they wanted love instead of ‘easy’ and that made two whole great humans. (Who are now creating more cute humans!)

    I will say I also love my eyes. Not everyone thinks they are hazel with me, but when I see close up pictures of my face, in the sunlight, I see a really cool color of light brown, amber, and green. I always liked it because of the aforementioned combo package I am. I always thought, my skin is from my mom, my hair is from my dad, and they collided in my eyes! Also, sometimes I will look in the mirror when I am really down, or having just cried a lot. I look at myself and see my eyes welled up with tears, but I know that it’s because I feel deeply, love deeply, and care about things. Windows to the soul and all that, but I like who I am and my eyes help remind me when I feel all over the place. Not sure if that makes sense. It’s the first time I ever wrote that idea down.

  9. This is a wonderful wonderful post. Thank you.

    What do I love about my body? I love my ridiculous butt. Perhaps I’m objectifying myself, but I love that it is strong and substantial and more than a bit sassy. I love the scar I have running down the front of my right shin. I was pushed into a pile of bricks, went to the doctor to get stitches; now, I’ll always know just the length of my shin at age five and that I do not freak out when things get bloody. I love my tiny hands and super-lined palms. I love my kinda funny eyes that have survived three surgeries and gotten far stronger each time.

    Mostly I love how much my body is responsive and part of me. I am grateful to not feel alienated by my body even as I age or occasionally encounter health problems. Most of it works pretty well and all of it has been with me through some very interesting shenanigans. Two thumbs up and lots of love from me to the body.

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