Dear Beautifully Mediocre Body,
Dear Beautifully Mediocre Body,
I need to start off by saying, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such a hater lately, I’m just in one of those slumps. One of those slumps where I just don’t feel comfortable in you, in my own skin.
I’ve gained back a majority of the weight we lost for the wedding and am just feeling very meh.
It’s not your fault though. You don’t decide what I feed you or how often I work out, which we both know isn’t as much as I should. But you get all the shaming for the aftermath of those decisions.
I think you will agree that what I put in you is, overall, pretty healthy. I don’t feed my family a ton of processed foods, I make sure to get in my veggies and my protein. I even add in extras like superfood smoothies and chia seeds…
But sometimes I fail.
Sometimes I give you nothing but mac n cheese and coffee with way too much sugar. Sometimes it’s the holidays and I have to taste test every batch of banana bread. Sometimes Everest forgets what sleep is and I don’t make a healthy home cooked meal, because I’m just too tired.
Sometimes it’s girl scout cookie season and… well I just love girl scout cookies.
Sometimes I look at you in the mirror and I get overwhelmed. When did you get so… loose? You’re looking a little saggier and a decent amount bigger than I’m used to and things just aren’t sitting where they once were.
You look almost foreign to me.
Where did that always swim suit ready, much tighter, much less flawed body go?
I go to get dressed in the morning sometimes and I see all those clothes I just can’t part with. Our favorite pair of jeans, the cute tops we would wear for a night out, the drawers filled with clothes that aren’t leggings and oversized sweaters. And I get a little sad that you don’t fit in them like you used to.
Sometimes I even cry.
I cry as I sit hunched over in the closet trying to find something to wear that doesn’t hug our pouch the wrong way or cling in weird places.
But then, something happens…
That little human we created, remember him? He needs me. He needs us. To scoop him up and hold him and kiss him and dance with him in the living room.
And then I remember how incredibley grateful I am for you.
Remember all those months of stretching and gaining weight and worrying and planning? Me too. I remember watching you change and being awestruck at your ability to do exactly what you were supposed to do week after week.
I remember feeling strong and empowered as we brought that tiny human, you worked so hard to grow, into this world.
You did so good.
And even if sometimes I’m a hater of you in all of your post baby glory, I love you. I am so thankful for what you have given me.
I am so thankful for your ability to grow life. And I am thankful for your ability to feed and nourish that life. Even if it left us looking a little deflated<3
I am thankful for being able to run and to play and to snuggle and to comfort.
Because that tiny human, he doesn’t care if you’re a size 4 or a size 10. He loves you, which makes me love you even more.
So, my dear beautifully mediocre mom bod, I promise to try and be more kind when I look at you.
I promise to give you more grace and less criticism.
I promise to do my best to fuel you with all the healthy things, so we can keep up with that perfect tiny human you worked so hard to create. And so that we hopefully can grow a few more<3
I promise to work on self-love, because you deserve it.
The thing is, when it comes down to it, you’re not really mediocre at all… you’re pretty extraordinary.
XoXo,
The Beautifully Mediocre Mama
18 Comments
Rebecca Galeskas
This is just beautiful. I mean truly. “Itβs not your fault though.” That really hit me. I get so down sometimes looking in the mirror, and at other times I feel great. It depends on the day. But be it my body or my hair or my skin, I forget all the places we’ve been together….I guess we are all pretty extraordinary. Thank you for this sweet and encouraging reminder today!
Soph
What a sweet post. I think almost every woman can relate to this- I’m not a mother yet but absolutely appreciate where you’re coming from, we put so much pressure on our bodies!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
Silvia
I absolutely love how you wrote this post, it’s such a great reminder that yes, we are accountable for our bodies. And yes, they deserve our full gratitude for supporting us- even when we’re not great to them. Love the accountability and the positive outlook!
Suktara
What a beautiful post. As someone who still struggles with her body image, I absolutely love this positive post. I am much better now, accepting my body than I was previously, but there is still work left. Thanks for sharing this, More power to you!
Natasha @MrsChettyLife
What a lovely post of self image and self acceptance.
Kim Wetherall
If we can’t love ourselves-then others can’t love us either. We need to offer ourselves kindness & patience. Great read!
Sherry
Love this post! We can be so hard on ourselves, but our bodies are truly incredible! Not only is self-love important for how we feel, but our kids are watching as we critique ourselves in the mirror and I definitely want my kids to love themselves no matter what as well!
Marna Altman
This is so sweet and so incredibly true. Our bodies are very complex as are our feelings for our body. We all get down on aspects of our selves but also can all find things we like/love about ourselves. I wish we could learn to love and embrace and be positive more for ourselves and all the women and girls around us.
Kristie | Girl Mom Chaos
Post-baby body is so hard to come to terms with. Each of my three pregnancies seem to bring a little bit more weight and a lot less of it went away after recovering from giving birth. After 3, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is my body now and I’m never getting back into those size 4, well, anythings again. And you know what? I’m OK with that.
Qua'Tesha
This is a great read, I mean like really! We have to love ourselves first. Being a mom changes you, in more good ways than not. Those stretch marks and loose skin is so worth it. We are superheroes!
Elizabeth | Tiredmom Supermom
This is so sweet! I love reading posts like this, so beautiful.
katie
This is such a beautiful, insightful, and honest post that every woman can relate to. A few years ago I was struggling with my body image and feeling comfortable in my skin. That summer I hiked over 100 miles of the John Muir Trail. When I returned from my hike my body was covered in mosquito bites and my knees and ankles were swollen. I looked awful, but I never felt more beautiful, strong, and proud of my body!
Beth
This is beautiful. Thank you so much for putting it out there. I’m sharing as I think this is SUCH an important message and something we all need to hear!
Trish ~ Habibi House
I loved reading this. Thank you for the reminder I needed.
Kim
Malorey, this was so beautiful to read and hit so close to home. We create these little humans with our amazing body but then turn around and are so ashamed of it. This was a great reminder of how great we mamas and our bodies are.
Hubby
Beautifully mediocre more like strong, amazing, and brave so so brave. I love you for all that you are, and all that you think you aren’t…. See I can use punctuation.?!;!!
Kathryn
Beautiful post, I love it! All moms need to read this one. π
Lisa
Beautiful. I will admit, Iβm so uncomfortable in this post baby body. But I try hard to remind myself of the great thing itβs done.