i like your body, mom

so privacy totally went the way of all the earth when my oldest child became a toddler, right? and since i still have a toddler, that coveted feeling of privacy has yet to show it's face again around my house.

like when i'm getting out of the shower and i suddenly have a playdate happening right in my own bathroom...please tell me you know what i'm talking about?! i think there is secret code inscribed in the woodgrain of the bathroom and bedroom doors...it says something like, "mom's indecent, now would be a good time to come on in!"...sigh.

so anyways...a couple of weeks ago, as i was getting out of the shower, my ellie bean came prancing into the bathroom to inspect the contents of the nail polish basket. she was pretty much focused on the sparkly selection before her. it was so cute. as i was drying off, she stood up and rubbed her little hand down my side..."i like your body, mom" she said.

just like that. just like "i like your shirt, mom" or "pretty haircut, mom"...it was genuine. it was real. she totally and completely meant it.

and it made me think...

about this body of mine. this body that i wrestle to love every day. this body that is showing signs of the years i've lived. this body that is a tell-tale sign of the 5 babies i have grown inside and given birth to.

i have spent years lamenting over the changes that motherhood has brought to my body. a body that i never fully appreciated in my younger, thinner, non-saggy days. i have cursed the process of pregnancy and stretching out like a giant hot-air balloon. i have cried over the pounds that want to hang around. i have missed jumping on the trampoline--you know what i mean. i have even called my stretch marks "battle scars"...have you?

but i think it's high time i started giving props to this body of mine! i mean, wowzers!!!! how cool that my body incubated and grew 5 whole other people?! it just did it, somehow. it just knew what to do, and wa-la...baby!! my body just knew how to stretch and bulge and be everything it needed to be to give life and nourishment to my children. that's amazing, i don't care who you are.

this body of mine did exactly what my maker intended it to do. it did exactly what bodies do...and i'm ready to embrace it. i tell you, i have earned every single stretch mark. i have earned every pound. i have earned every bloodshot eye.

i am proud of the mother body in which i now reside. mind you, i'm working on losing some poundage and being healthier, for sure. but as i live my life--my busy, crazy, beautiful, full-of-children life--my body is living proof that i am a mom. i am going to think of those stretch marks more like souvenirs...sounds more fun, huh? a little treasure from the journey. i am going to love this body that did such an incredible job growing my babies, and give it a break.

so to ellie...thanks! i like my body, too.

sweety sweetness...my body did a good job!

p.s....i received a beautiful comment that so perfectly sums it all up that i would like to share:

"those stretch marks and pooches and scars are the marks of a queen. Any ol' selfish princess can maintain the body she had at 17; a queen bears the marks of walking into the valley of the shadow of death hand in hand with the Savior, and coming out on the other side of the valley having brought forth a little human being.

In this mortal life, we are all subject to the law of opposition: we don't get something without giving something up. We give up our time for a paycheck. We give up our 20s for a mission and education. We women give up our "girlish figures" for the opportunity to partner with God in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of our babies (who grow up too fast). All in all, that's not a bad choice at all!"

thanks, kathy!!