Wear it Anyway

Oh friends - let me tell you the story of this dress.

I have owned this for probably almost 15 years. It hasn't seen an awful lot of wear and I'll tell you why. I bought this before the hubs and I got married, and I *thought* then that I was "too fat" to wear this dress. It was something I would wear just around the house, never outside, rarely even if someone was coming by. I was embarrassed by how it showed my tummy (which was nothing then compared to now! LOL), it was tight on my arms, and well - there's a lot of boob going on with this dress.

So I hardly ever wore it.

After we had the boys I had pulled it out of an old  bin of clothes and thought - oh, that's super stretchy - it'll be comfortable, I'll just have it for hanging around the house.
Again - when wearing it, I was self-conscious, always trying to hide my mid-section or my rear.

But these past couple of years have been different for me. I don't think my body is any "better" now than it was when I first bought this dress. But I'M different. I think of my body differently.

I know there are people who still think I should lose weight. Some of those people are family members, some are friends, and most of them are random people from the internet who seem to think they should be able to comment on my weight. Some days even I'm one of those people - but I keep circling back around to WHY. WHY "should" I lose weight? Because other people think I should? Because it would be easier to shop for clothes? Because it's more socially acceptable than living in and enjoying life in a fat(ter) body? For my Health? (Yeah, capital 'H' Health - that's the one I get in private messages from strangers on the reg) Maybe I would like to lose a few pounds.... but maybe I'd also like to win the lottery.

Here's the thing: whether I want to lose weight, or gain weight, or do lose or gain, or stay the same, or whatever - that's MY business. And this is the body I have right. now. And you know what? It's a good body.

It's a body that carried my 2 boys.
It's a body that runs and plays and laughs deep belly laughs until you cry with my kids and my family and my friends.
It's also a body that enjoys a great glass of wine, and a big juicy burger.
It's a body that keeps me warm, moves me from place to place and floats in our cottage lake like a dream.
It's a body that can dance, and has great big lungs that I can sing from - and sing pretty darn well if I do say so myself.
It's a good body.
And it's my body.

And you know what else? I like the way it looks in this horizontal striped, skin tight, stretchy, comfy, super-old dress.

Whether anyone else likes it or not.

Linking up with: Seeking Sunshine // Pumps and Pushups // Jersey Girl, Texan Heart // Lindsay's Sweet World // Curly Crafty Mom // Elegance and Mommyhood // Thirty Minus One // A Labour of Life // Mummbstylish // Jolynne Shane // Style Elixir // Shelbee on the Edge // Nancy's Fashion Style // Jeans and a Teacup // Lizzie in Lace