Mermaid or Whale?

I, first want to thank all you who emailed me or left comments on my "Weighty Issue" post. What wonderful women are out there! I want to answer some of you here.



I do walk a lot with the kiddos in the warmer months, and have been "kid walking" for 15 years. ( I used to assistant teach at a Montessori school and then did daycare in my home before having children of my own) I have never lost any weight "kid walking". Has anyone? I mean, really? It is good for the spirits though, to walk and teach the kiddos to walk and just be active. I love being active. I love being outside.



Thank you so much for your prayers. You know, 3 years ago, I actually prayed a Christmas Novena, you know the St Andrew one that starts in November and goes til Christmas? The Novena was prayed for "time" to exercise so I could lose the weight so I could feel better about myself and be a better wife and mother. (see? I want to do the work, I just need that time) I do know, though, God answers in His time, not ours.



Uh, where's my apron? (kidding)



Swimming? Are you kidding? There's that crippling thing. I'm sure my swim suit does not fit, since I'm 21 lbs heavier than the last time I wore it. (before Sweetie Pie) Christine asked if I have my prego suit. Yes, but, OK, I'm not that big. I did lose about 30 lbs after Sweetie Pie. (I'll do the math for you, that's 50 lbs I gained in this last pregnancy)


I am an all or nothing person. I need to find that time for regular workouts, not here and there. It feels unfinished and disorganized. Workouts where I sweat, where it actually works the muscles and tones.


Here's a link a friend sent to me, that her hubby sent to her as a joke. My OB actually told me after Mary Hannah, (my 3rd) and a year of working out on an ab machine religiously, that plastic surgery is the only answer for my stomach. It's been stretched and cut too many times for natural repair. It's my war wound, my medal of honor, right? No surgery for me!



I do offer it up. I just wanted to vent and get it out there, I'm not looking for answers, I guess, just others going through the same thing, similar struggles. I got that. Thank you. I hope you did too.


Regan sent me this story she got from her mother. It's quite funny and true at the same time.


--Recently, in a large city in France,
a poster featuring a young, thin and tan
woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said, "This summer,
do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"
A middle-aged woman,
whose physical characteristics did not match
those of the woman on the poster,
responded publicly to the question
posed by the gym.


To Whom it May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded
by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans)
They have an active sex life,
get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.
They have a wonderful time with the dolphins
stuffing themselves with shrimp.
They play and swim in the seas,
seeing wonderful places like Patagonia,
the Bering Sea
and the coral reefs of Polynesia.
Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CD's.
They are loved, protected and admired by
almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don't exist.
If they did exist,
they would be lining up outside the offices
of Argentinean psychoanalysts
due to identity crisis. Fish or human?
They don't have a sex life
because they kill men who
get close to them, not to mention
how could they have sex?
Just look at them...where is IT?
Therefore, they don't have kids either.
Not to mention,
Who wants to get close to a girl who smells
like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me:
I want to be a whale.


P.S. We are in an age
when media puts into our heads
the idea that only skinny people are beautiful,
but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids,
a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver,
and a piece of chocolate with my friends.
With time, we gain weight because we
accumulate so much information
and wisdom in our heads that when there is
no more room,
it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.
So we aren't heavy,
we are enormously cultured,
educated and happy.
Beginning today,
when I look at my butt in the mirror, I will think,
Good grief, look how smart I am!"


Thanks Regan, for the laugh!!!
Yes, God is making many of us humble with our looks, and humble is good. Humble is always good.