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Silver, Saggy, & Wrinkly…Oh, My!

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As I continue to climb the hill, I notice things about my body that are not altogether pleasing. It can be very, very discouraging and depressing. We live in a culture rich with placing worth on appearance. And it gets old. Very, very old.

But, today I read an article about a woman who, for the very first time, bought and wore a bikini after years of feeling inadequate. I was inspired. Her story brought tears to my eyes. At nine, she went to weight loss camp, at eleven, had surgery. She is now 21. Her name is Lesley, and here is the link to her story.

Then, I opened my Reader and found a great post written by my new friend Heather Anne. Heather Anne had seen a post on another blog about positive body image and was motivated to actually take time to name things about her body she liked. Think about that!

I decided to take that challenge and make my list. This is very hard. Nonetheless, here goes:

  1. I have always liked my height. I am 5′ 7″ and have never felt too tall or too short. This comes in handy; I can reach whatever I need, have never wanted to be taller for any reason.
  2. I love my skin. When I was a child I was teased about this. I was born with jaundice. My mom says the whites of my eyes were yellow (for a short time!) and my skin color remained a bit darker, I guess from having a bit more pigment. At any rate, over the years I’ve come to love my skin “tone.”
  3. I could be the “Brown-eyed girl.” I got my parents’ large, brown eyes. Enough said.
  4. I have slim ankles and wrists. No Pop Eye here.
  5. I have strong legs. Running, walking, and hiking have always come easy. My ability to do these things has changed ever so slightly–some days I have a hitch in my get-along, and the knees and feet don’t always cooperate–but, when I want to, the legs usually come through.

WAHOO!!! I did it. Yay!! Please join me in this most important challenge. And for the rest of Heather’s story, read on:

Body Confident Challenge: Name 5 Things You Love About Your Body

Good evening to all my beautiful and talented internet friends. Earlier today I was reading through different blogs instead of actually doing my job. I went from posts about beauty, to mental health, to everyday life opinions. Every once in a while I stumbled upon a post that hits me and stops me in my tracks. Today, the lovely Cookie over at ihaveanopinionidliketoshare did just that. Said post can be found here.

In this article, Cookie said that only 22% of women in Canada feel confident in their body image. Only 22%! That’s less than a quarter of woman in the country. That’s just sad and disheartening. Unfortunately, it’s not surprising.

Now, I live in the United States, but I couldn’t imagine our percentage looked any better. According to the Huffington Post article, only 24% of American women feel body confident. Still less than a quarter of women in my country. That’s terrible, and it shouldn’t be this way!

Because of that, I’m rallying around Cookie. As women, we must change this perception. Not only for our own sake, but for our future generations. At her request, I’m listing five things I love about my body.

  1. My ass brings all the boys to the yard. And their like, it’s better than yours. No. In all seriousness, my ass is Italian and awesome.
  2. My breast aren’t large. They’re definitely smaller than average. But then again, so am I. Despite their small size, I think they’re perfect
  3. My hair is easy to manage. Naturally straight. Pretty cooperative. Double bonus.
  4. With my short stature, I can fit into just about any small space with ease.
  5. I have curves, and I like to show them.

Wow. That was surprisingly difficult to do. Took me a hot minute or two to come up with, if I’m being honest. But now it’s your turn! Find five things you love about your body and post them for all to see. Show the world that you’re not afraid to love yourself! Don’t forget to check out Cookie’s website here! Happy Wednesday, everyone! Until tomorrow.

Heather Anne

Here is the link to her blog: The Magical Thinker.

So, while I may be seeing a bit more silver, and a few more sags and wrinkles, by golly, I’m gonna like ’em!

❤ You are all beautiful. Have a fabulous day! ❤

  27 comments for “Silver, Saggy, & Wrinkly…Oh, My!”

  1. Wendy
    November 20, 2016 at 1:41 am

    How lovely – yes be proud! It’s easy to focus on all the negative areas and those that are definitely ‘going south’ as I age! I’m going to have a think about the things I do like – thank you! x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      November 20, 2016 at 10:07 pm

      It really is quite difficult to come up with a list of positives. No trouble at all with my negatives list. Will need to remember that I made a list. And what’s on it. Darned memory issues… 😉

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Wendy
        November 20, 2016 at 10:50 pm

        You’re so right Karen – the negatives are usually much easier which is where the ‘flip it’ comes in brilliantly. Simply tell yourself the ‘opposite’ of what you’ve got on your list – this is me now..e.g. “I hate being fat” becomes “I’m enjoying being slim” – the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality (clearly!) and will therefore start to believe the new ‘reality’ that you’re giving it – even if it’s not yet true… and what you focus on is what you get so the more you focus on things being positive the better it gets… (sorry about lengthy response)… Have a great week xx

        Liked by 1 person

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        • karenlee
          November 22, 2016 at 9:14 am

          Oh, Wendy! No wonder I like you and your writing! “…what you focus on is what you get…” Hmmm. How utterly true! That is something I will definitely keep in mind. ❤

          Liked by 1 person

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          • Wendy
            November 22, 2016 at 1:50 pm

            Haha – I’m not sure I was focussing on ‘wrinkles’ when I put that lemon mask on last Saturday – but I definitely got them so maybe I was – subconsciously!! hehe x

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  2. Amy
    June 25, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Great post (and sorry it took so long to get to it—was on the road). Did you want us to name five here? I will try. I like my hair. I have cute feet. Uh oh. Now I am stumped! I guess my eyes are okay! And I think my nose and ears are fine. Boy, that was hard! Listing what I DON’T like would be easy and would be a much bigger list!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      June 27, 2016 at 10:52 am

      You crack me up. My DON’T LIKE list is endless, for sure. Thanks for chiming in on this one; it is hard to do. But, I think we need to do this because so often we think in the negative and over time, I feel this is damaging.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Amy
        June 27, 2016 at 12:38 pm

        I agree. What kills me is that I always thought I was fat, and I look at photos of me as a kid and a teen, and I was never fat. How awful.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • karenlee
          June 27, 2016 at 2:38 pm

          I feel that we become aware of the pressure to be thin at a very young age. Some who are not overweight still may think they are, and that is so sad. I am glad I saw Heather Anne’s post. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

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  3. Jessica
    June 25, 2016 at 7:26 am

    How brave! I can think of 4!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Ann Coleman
    June 24, 2016 at 10:51 am

    I think the idea of actually having to name five things we like about our bodies is a terrific idea! Too often, we spend all our time thinking of all the things we don’t like about them….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      June 24, 2016 at 11:49 am

      I caught myself doing just that, thinking things like, “I really don’t like this, or that,” and forced myself to redirect my thinking to the positives. It’s a hard thing to do. I wish we didn’t beat ourselves up so much. Thanks for commenting, Ann. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. Lulu
    June 23, 2016 at 7:05 pm

    Love this post, Karen! I love the way that you responded to yourself compassionately and positively when you were stuck in a difficult mental place. As someone in recovery from an eating disorder, I’m well-practiced at hating my body. When I was in treatment, there were no mirrors. I was living with friends, and my friends didn’t have any mirrors in their house, either. I got used to just *living* and experiencing life without knowing what I looked like, and very gradually, I trained myself not to notice. There was a time when I checked every reflective surface I passed (car doors, store windows, puddles on the sidewalk) for a glimpse of myself, because I was so insecure about how I looked. The part of my body that I hated the most was my belly. I’ll never forget the time that I came downstairs at Christmas wearing a dress that fit very snugly and feeling extremely self-conscious about my “roll.” My friend looked at me and said, completely flatly, “That is called a stomach, and everyone has one.” A few weeks later, I was trying on clothes, searching for something to wear to a special event, and I noticed my stomach again. “Actually,” I thought, running my hand over its roundness, “I kind of *like* its shape! It looks real! I look like an actual human being.” It was the first time I can recall being comfortable with not being skin-and-bones. Sometimes, it’s still hard to look at pictures of myself from my E.D. days, when I was a bit more gaunt. There’s something still appealing about that look to me, but these days, I appreciate my body a lot more. It does some amazing things for me!

    I love your list of things you love about your body. Especially #2! For some reason, that just seems special to me. Here’s my own top 5.
    1. I have the most amazing feet. They are a lovely shape, and I love their size. They’re perfectly proportioned for my body. I even love the way my second toe is longer than my first toe, and the second toe on my left foot is just a hair longer then my second toe on my right foot. There’s something incredible about my feet and all the miles that they have carried me, all the runs we have finished, all the bazillion of city blocks we’ve walked, all the countries they’ve traipsed across.
    2. My eye color. I have lovely hazel eyes, with lashes that aren’t too short and aren’t too long. My eye color looks different depending on the lighting and the color that I’m wearing, and I happen to think that my eyes sparkle.
    3. My teeth! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for braces! I still wear retainers at night, and I have lovely, straight teeth.
    4. My baby teeth. Two of my back teeth are still baby teeth, because there were never any adult teeth to grow up underneath them. Apparently, it’s a quirk of genetics. I think it’s cool and makes me unique.
    5. My flat chest. I have always LOVED having a flat chest. I can walk around the house without a bra. All I have to do is throw on a sweater for a trip to the store and nobody’s any the wiser. My chest never gets in the way of anything. I am especially grateful for my flat chest when I’m exercising.

    I could keep going, but I think this response is long enough. Hope you’re having a wonderful night!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      March 21, 2018 at 4:13 pm

      Oh, Lulu, I am so sorry I missed this one (actually, this went to my trash file, also without my permission). I love this post! Thank you so much for being a great sport and chiming in. I once read that some men like women’s bellies, that some find it to be one of the most sensuous places on a woman’s body. I always remembered that in case I needed to use it (should I receive a negative comment about my own “belly”). I’ve never had to pull this one out of my mental store, but I will in case I need to. 😉 It takes years, and no wonder, for women to like our bodies. We are socialized to be perfect when no one is, and that is hard to live up to. Oh, it’s a tough world out there. I hope you are doing well and that you continue to like your body. I love your list, by the way. Feet are great, and I am glad yours have taken you on some amazing journeys. 🙂

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      Reply
  6. tarnishedsoul
    June 23, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    I really liked this post. I’m also trying to work on a more positive attitude towards my self – my body included! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      June 23, 2016 at 1:53 pm

      Thank you so much! I am glad you commented. We have a lot of work to do in our culture about this issue, would you agree?

      I just stopped by to take a preliminary look at your site. I’ll be back. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • tarnishedsoul
        June 23, 2016 at 2:07 pm

        Thank you! I appreciate the look. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m okay with that, I think…lol.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • karenlee
          June 23, 2016 at 2:13 pm

          We can’t all be the same. How boring that would be. Glad you’ve joined my site. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  7. Heather Anne
    June 23, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    I love this! Thanks for taking on the challenge with me! It is hard to come up with 5 things, but it helps grow confidence.
    It was extremely nice to meet you! I look forward to your future blog posts. 💕

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • karenlee
      June 23, 2016 at 12:24 pm

      I am so glad you like the post. I have seen these challenges and like the idea. We certainly have a long way to go with debunking those stereotypes and negative images, and this is what helps. Very glad as well we’ve met. Have a great day! 🙂

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