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Look at this picture. What do you see? A beautiful woman who is happy. See the wrinkles around her eyes. Those are lines from pain and sorrow, stress, doubt and worry. From happiness and joy and abundant smiles! From seeing her kids, husband and her church through the happiest and the saddest of times and being strong the whole way.
I see the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever known. My mother.
Of course, I see all of those thing because I know her life. I know where she's been and what she's become. I am so proud of her and I pray every day I can be like her one day! Those are big shoes to fill, let me just tell you! I have watched this woman my entire life and still cannot seem to grasp where she gets her strength and work ethic from every day.
So, that being said, let me ask you another question: If the outside world were to stumble upon this picture, what would they see? Would their thoughts be as kind as mine? Would they realize how amazing this woman is by the wrinkles around her eyes?
Surely not. Most of what we see today is only the skin deep person. We follow peoples lives judging them and never knowing who they really are. But, that is the world we live in.
It's all about perspective. Follow me a little bit further and allow me to show you why this amazing woman is smiling so big!
Because this precious little boy is smiling back at her! Her grandson, my nephew, Dylan.
So, ladies, listen to me now. Look in the mirror. Look down at your bodies. Examine every roll, dimple and line. Those are all stories that tell us where we've been, who we are and what we've been through. That's every fight we've had with our mothers, every wonderful meal we've had with our families, every celebration, every dismay, every heartbreak and all our smiles. These are our BEAUTY!! Maybe that's God's way of letting us hold on to those memories a little bit longer.
Love yourself inside! If you don't like it, fix it. If you want to work on the outside, do! But first and foremost, never let it take control of you. Remember those stories. Learn from them, grow from them and heal from them.
Lots of Love!
Maggie
What an absolutely fabulous woman!! I adore her body and her spirit!
Okay, So I know I should totally be ashamed of myself for this one, but I'm not! I love her. She is so confident in herself and with every reason to be. She has curves and minor imperfections and she completely embraces them. Granted, she works her rather large butt off for that gorgeous body, but shouldn't we all. Wouldn't we all be happier with ourselves if we took care of our bodies that way?
Another "booty-licious" (yeah I said it) woman who embraces her curves and celebrates the beauty of a woman's body. She has a wholesome quality about her that I adore. She, like Kim and Jennifer, takes care of her body. BEAUTIFUL!
All of these women have something in common besides fame, killer figures, and lots of money, that I don't have consistently. DISCIPLINE!! I get motivated and on a plan and then there's ice cream, chips, my mother's deliciously fattening and wonderful cooking, church pot lucks (you can forget the discipline there) and the "I'm so hungry when I get off work at 10:30 since I haven't eaten since 1pm that I could eat a cow." Can you see where I'm going with this?
In September of last year, I decided to do Weight Watchers. It worked well. I dropped two sizes and lost 13 pounds. I fluctuate with the weight now but I have been able to keep the inches off for the most part. During that time, I was able to fight cravings, not eat those Cinnamon Rolls, muffins and tasty desserts my Martha Stewart of a boss would bring to work. It was easy for me to eat my Chocolate Quaker Rice Cake while everyone else ate cookies, to limit myself on my food intake and to not participate in "dangerous eating behaviors" at all. I could resist that first bite of something because I knew, deep down, that it wouldn't be my last bite. I felt so good about myself during that time. I was in control, empowered, strong! I had it down, until the words "I don't care, I want that, or I'm starving" re-entered my vocabulary. It's been downhill ever since.
I'm finally tired of hearing myself repeat those lies. It's time to get back on track.
I've recently begun reading Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I love it. I never thought I could be convinced to join in the Organic and Vegan propaganda, but I did. Read this book, you'll understand why. This book has inspired me to be motivated and excited about a new diet and fitness era of my life, except this is an actual lifestyle change. It is probably the hardest transition I've made yet! There is so much to take in and so many rules to follow, yet there isn't. It's odd. It really gives you a sense of taking care of your body and doing what's best for youself. I can tell it's going to be good and I'll lose the last few pounds I've been wanting to lose, and the few extra's I've put on this summer.
So, as I begin my new lifestyle, my preparation to move to Nashville and my new life there, I will be using this blog to report on my day to day life and My Journey to Fabulous! I hope the things I write here will be easy for other women to relate to, since a lot of it will be about diets, exercise and a womans (seemingly fruitless) desire for perfection. I hope it will, in turn, help me find balance between my spiritual and physical beauty and to truly understand how deeply they coincide.
Lots of love!
Maggie
