Beauty marks

When I got out of the shower this morning, I took a long look at my body. I'm a day away from 39 weeks pregnant, and well, some thing aren't all that pretty right now. But as I glanced around at my flattened belly button, giant belly and stretch marks, I realized just how amazing - and beautiful - my body truly is. As I rubbed the ever-growing stretch marks with a finger, I realized just how grateful I am to have them. Each stretch mark tells a story of a beautiful growing life. And while I admit that it is hard to not complain about the changes my body has undergone in the past three years, I need to adjust my thinking to sheer gratefulness. My body will never be the same and I'm beyond thrilled for that fact. I've been able to carry two babies to term and there are many women who cannot say that. Their babies are born too early and I'd be willing to bet they would beg for the stretch marks that made a healthy baby. Other women aren't able to carry a child at all and would gladly trade their flat stomachs for skin that will never be the same.

I read an article a little while ago that talked about teaching your daughter true beauty through the mom's example and words. If a young girl hears her mother constantly complain about her image, then the daughter will quickly become critical of her young body. As a mom of a young and impressionable girl, I want to show her that beauty can take many forms. I don't want her to hear that I wish my body was different. And if I do want it different, then I want her to see how a healthy lifestyle can change that. But looking in a mirror and pointing out wrinkles, sagging skin and fat deposits communicate a message to a young mind. I need to lead - and speak - by example, if not for my own mindset, for my daughter's.

And the reality is that the changes my body has undergone to grow, deliver and nurse my children is nothing short of the true image of beauty. Will I ever fit into a size 4 (or even a 6) again? Will my breasts ever be perky again? Will the skin on my stomach ever be taut or minus the stretch marks? Will my belly button ever be the same again? Absolutely not. And I'm not even going to call these changes "war wounds" because they aren't. No, I think I'll start calling them my beauty marks. My son and daughter are the absolute BEST things I've ever created. And yes, they came with a few beauty marks that most wouldn't call beautiful. I don't ever want my kids to hear how bringing them into this world changed my body in a bad way. I don't want Madeline to feel that she is the cause of my dampened self-image. And how do I keep those thoughts from ever entering her mind? By telling her that I think I'm beautiful and that she left me with beauty marks - not complaining about the changes my body underwent to bring her in this world. It is going to mean a true change in my mindset so I'm not just communicating words, but rather a true belief I hold about my image. I've noticed that people who are down about their image tend to be critical of people's image around them. It could be that some people are too small, disproportional or too large. I do not know if it makes them feel better about themselves or is a reflection of their jealousy. Beauty takes many forms. Some of the most beautiful people in my life would never win a pageant or don the cover of a magazine because society says their outward appearance is flawed in some way.But that doesn't make them less beautiful than anyone else.

Some women are lucky to finish pregnancy without nary a sign that their uterus was once as large as a watermelon. I'm not one of these women. Last night, I pointed out to Craig the stretch marks on my left side that have recently grown.

As he put it, "You make stretch marks beautiful."

I'm so thankful for a husband who thinks I'm beautiful and tells me so every single night. Every night. I admit that there are many times when I don't feel beautiful. It doesn't feel beautiful to have bags under your eyes or breasts that resemble dried fruit (laugh if you want, but lactation does some funky things to breasts!!!), but if beauty comes from within, these things shouldn't effect my ability to feel beautiful.

So today, I'm going to type it out for all of you. Just as much for me as for you.


I'm beautiful. And my beauty has been enhanced by the beauty marks that I'm trying to treasure.

Yes, I'm beautiful.