This post was done as a joint endeavor with the inimitable and beloved MizFit as our tribute to gratitude.
It seems like sometimes we fit bloggers get a bit obsessive about our bodies. (That would be the understatement of the year except that “Michael Jackson is a bit off” wins every time.) We tweak what we put into our bodies and catalog what comes out. We monitor the various ways, times and parts of it that we exercise. We love it, we restrict it, we dream about it, we punish it. We can even get obsessive about not being obsessive about it. And really, it’s quite understandable. The human body is a miracle. It works like no machine ever could. When everything goes right – and the majority of the time it does – it is so seamless that I sometimes take it for granted.
Today I am all about the gratitude for my body.
My Top 5 Favorite Things About My Body
1. I have carried and birthed four children. Three were healthy, all were beautiful. Even in the death of my infant daughter, I was grateful to my body for taking care of her as best as it could and I was grateful to her body for sticking with me as long as she did.
2. I have a quick mind. When we talk about our bodies, we often neglect to think about the part that does all the thinking. I may forget some of the minutae (What Mrs. X? It was my son’s pretend birthday today in Kindergarten and I forgot to bring treats for the whole class and make a poster of what a special kid he is and now he’s sobbing at his desk? Um…) but I have a great memory and love for the stories in my life, the epic tales that have made it worth every minute of my time on this ride.
3. I can run fast. I’m no Olympian but I can sprint to a toddler chasing a ball into the street like you wouldn’t believe. My legs have never ever failed me when I have truly needed them. They are strong and powerful and beautiful.
4. I have a great immune system. This is one of those things that you don’t think about it until it isn’t working. The truth is that I rarely get sick. And when I do, I recover quickly.
5. I feel everything. Sometimes it’s hard living in this world when you are a very intense person but at the same time I firmly believe that that same intensity makes colors brighter, smells linger and the gentle words of a friend more meaningful. I cry a lot but I also laugh a lot and it all adds to the experience.
Reader Becky’s Story
Becky, her mom and her sister
I recently came across a very inspiring entry on Reader Becky’s (a.k.a. chilerocks) blog. Her mother, her sister and herself all decided to join a Master’s swimming club and compete in a relay race together. Swimming was always something they had shared growing up but the years intervened and all three moved away. But swimming reunited them more than the miles could separate them and they took on this new challenge as a family. Each woman brought her own challenges to overcome. Becky recently gave birth to her second son (and incidentally has the most horrifying childbirth story I’ve ever heard – she had a c-section and was not numb.) Her mother recently overcame a long and difficult battle with cancer. Her younger sister is just starting the process of figuring out who she is and launching her life.
The team swam the 200m medley with Becky (that’s her above) doing a beautiful butterfly. Despite their best efforts, all the other teams finished first and so Becky’s sister had to do the final lap on her own. The women were undeterred in their passion for their sport and just grateful for the opportunity to do it. Becky sums up their experience by saying, “It was a fun meet and a good check on our “Someday I’d like to do that” list. Hopefully it will also motivate us to swim even more so we can do more meets.” I am quite sure they will.
I hope you all had a great holiday yesterday! What are you grateful for about your body? For more ideas, head over to MizFit’s and check out what she has to say!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post! (I love your whole blog, too!) Thank you for highlighting my swimmer friend Becky. She has inspired me to also join the Masters swim team a couple months ago, even though I’ve never swam in my life before. She is a great inspiration to me and has helped me to learn to love the sport. I went and watched her and her team swim at the meet, and it brought tears to my eyes to see them compete together – despite so many odds.
Thanks again for such a timely and introspective post.
Charlotte, I am so touched by this post. And genuinely humbled. Such a great time for this.
xxx
Nice post. Its so rare that we appreciate ourselves!
I appreciate my drive and ambition to constantly learn new things and apply them, sprinkle a little joy around, grow my muscles…those types of things 🙂
To Becky: a truly inspirational story. Keep up the good work!
Happy weekend people!
What an upbeat, inspiring post! I agree completely about neglecting the mind as part of the body to be cared for and nourished just as much as the rest. And I’m SO similar to you with the intensity of feeling, but I find it hard to think of it as a positive – and it really is.
When I was really sick, my best friend wrote me a note about what she loved about me, and she said that my brilliant mind might be what had brought me to this bad place, but it was also a gift to be cherished and could also make me well again. I will never, ever forget that!
TA x
dang. I love this post, Charlotte and am inspired by you and becky.
wow.
Very nice Charlotte!! Best wishes to the three of them!!
Yeah, my bodies been a good friend. I’ve thought about that numerous times.
“she had a c section and was not numb” is probably the best birth control out there…
Great story about Becky!!
I too was VERY grateful for my strong and quick legs when I was chasing those girls all over the place when I was a nanny. And am currently grateful for my arms to hold my new twin nieces (at the same time;)).
And have always, ALWAYS been grateful for my right hand to write. That one is HUGE.
Tongue to taste. Eyes to see and ears to listen. Damn, I’m going over five now… but agree about the mind. And also- I am so glad that my body is healthy and has such a good immune system and has SERVED ME WELL!
Great post and I’ll stop with the rambling now:) (your posts always make me think…)
What an awesome post!
It’s funny how we only notice all the things our bodies do wrong and not all the wonderful things they do without us having to think about it at all.
Can you imagine if we had to try to consciously direct the process? As in whoops, I was trying to digest breakfast, send some white blood cells over to that papercut, and I forgot to breathe–game over! Good thing we’re only nominally in charge.
Thanks for the reminder!
Another amazing post!
And Becky and her family are incredible!!!!!!
I’m grateful for my body for so my many things: for my kids, for being able to give and receive hugs and kisses, for giving me my careers. When I was acting I used my body and voice to express. Now I use my body and voice to teach, and be taught in return.
The human body is truly miraculous. Thanks for the reminder!
I, as many of you, am always fixated on the shape of my body instead of the many healthy years that it has given me. I am thankful for my quick wit and strong legs. They came in handy when I was 9 months pregnant with my last child and I was sitting outside watching my husband build our patio. My older 2 children came running outside screaming that my 3 year old was “in the toilet”. Knowing my 3 year old and seeing the fear on my other 2’s faces, I was certain somehow my 3 year old had drowned in the toilet. (Not so altogether out there considering she did once get her head stuck in the toilet.) My legs and quick wit got me off my chair in the back yard, around the house, into the front door, and to the correct bathroom (we have 3) before my husband could even get into the house…reminder I was 9 months pregnant. In the end, she was simply sitting on the toilet wondering why everyone was invading her privacy on the throne. Long story not so short, in the 10-15 seconds it took me to get to her, I figured out which bathroom she would be in, how long she must have been underwater, and what my chances were of bringing her back. I thank my body and mind for preparing me for a situation like this because some day, there may not be such a happy ending. By the way, I curse my bladder as I peed my pants the whole time I was running for her. (Remember, I was 9 months pregnant!)
I love this post. I am grateful for posts like this 🙂
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
Thanks Charlotte, I feel kinda famous now 🙂 and thanks to her readers for your positive comments. I read this after strangely gaining 14 pounds from thursday to friday (and no, I did not eat 14 pounds of turkey or drink several gallons of water, but I wasn’t feeling that positive about my body and this post cheered me up. Now, after a serious 24-hour flu, everything is back to normal thank goodness…
It’s so important to view our bodies this way. Go, you! I’m feeling you on the great immune system thing…I’m very thankful that I’m so healthy and rarely feel sick.