I Once Had Your Body

Once I turn fifty I would like to begin a lecture series, travel from high school to high school maybe even a couple of middle schools. I have things to say that people should hear.

My first topic would be a riveting example of show and tell. I would whisper into the microphone, I once had your body. The crowd would simmer down and settle in, I once had your body, I would repeat it slowly and clearly.

That's right, I once had naturally firm upper arms and toned legs. My left thigh didn't even know there was a right thigh because they did not touch each other when I walked.

I had decent hair when I was your age, too. This was before they invented "products". If we were lucky, we accompanied our mothers to their beauty parlor to get our split ends trimmed. If we weren't lucky, our mom or someone else's mom trimmed our hair. And our highlights were put in with lemon juice and hours of hard work in the sun. Ionic dryers and molecular rollers weren't even invented yet.

I, too, had great posture when I was your age and it wasn't until I became a mom that I developed this slouch. It is a result of maternal-tasking. Because of this glorious slouch, I was able to write a grocery list while feeding a baby a bottle. I could talk on a wall phone (translation: land line connected to a wall jack) and do the dishes while stirring dinner and folding laundry. I carry my slouch with great pride. Your perfect posture might not last, you should enjoy it while you can because I once had your body.

I had a thin waist and tiny hips. I've got pictures to prove it, too. O.K., they are black and white pictures, but I've got proof. You can tell it is me, my bangs are cut crooked because my mom was busy working two jobs so my grandmother did my haircut.

The hips have now widened, but I needed to have that happen. These hips carried my babies while they were on the inside and they helped me balance these babies once they got to the outside. Appreciate the waist and hips that you have now, I once had your body and I am telling you to take care of it starting right now. But as your mind becomes wiser and your hips become wider, love how you look then as much as how you should love how you look now.

I've got something incredible and new that you haven't even dreamt of yet. It is a fat roll and it comes from having babies and enjoying way too many of life's sweet treats. My kids grew up thinking it was a body part. Head, neck, arm, fat roll, leg, etc. My kids believe that the fat roll is part of the miracle of childbirth, something special that God only gave to mothers. They know it is what we use to carry our babies until they are ready to breathe regular air.

Love how you look today, enjoy your time. Don't rush to the next phase. But when you get there, enjoy that time.

Don't waste your life obsessing on the outside of you, I once had your body, I know it is temporary. Seriously, you don't need to let yourself go totally to hell with your appearance but it really is the inside of you where the true beauty lies and shines through to the outside.

Years after school, people aren't going to remember your salon highlights or your perfect Abercrombie sweatshirt with matching fleece scarf combination but they will remember you because of you. So what if your matching bra and unders came from Victoria's Secret in the perfect shade that matches your nail polish. If your personality makes you unapproachable, what's the point of coordinating everything else?

Who are you on the inside? Be someone that people want to make eye contact with years later. Don't be remembered as the one who didn't think anyone was good enough to be around, be remembered as the one who always had something great to say about everyone. Trust me on this.

Granted, not all cities have the best mall ever or a downtown worth bragging about, but we have grocery stores and about a decade after high school you will bump into someone you know there. If you spend your time obsessing with how you look now while judging others for not looking the way you think they should look, everyone is going to totally overlook you years from now. Don't challenge me here.

I once had your body and to think of it makes me smile. But it is who I was on the inside that counted the most. I was scared, I was quiet, I watched life go past and I was afraid to participate. But I smiled, I smiled a lot. I was alone but I stayed happy. I didn't compromise who I was to fit in, I held open doors, helped people with directions, and didn't realize anyone knew I existed. Until this weekend.

I was volunteering at a local charity event, smiling like a crazy woman during my four hour stint of service and I'll be dipped, somebody recognized me from high school. It always surprises me when that happens, I had no idea anyone even knew of me. When it was senior picture time I sat there with a complete deck of my wallet size reprints and literally no one to receive them.

I like it when people recognize me from "back in the day" and I am proud that I stayed true to me. I am glad that when people know it is me they stop and say hi and that I am not the kind of person that they stop, dig in their purse, and fake that they didn't see me so they can avoid conversation.

Like who you are today, hydrate yourself inside and out, drink a lot of water and use a quality moisturizer. Who you are today is the anchor for who you will be later. Be someone people want to talk to when they haven't seen you for twenty-five years plus. I once had your body, but it is the one I have today that I am the most proud of, fat roll and all.