Yuck...

My husband took a picture of my baby and I last weekend, when we were on our camping trip. A few days ago he posted it on facebook. Do you know what my first thought was?

You probably do...you've probably had the same thought...I'm willing to bet most women have...

"Man, I look terrible."

I didn't look at the adoring way that my son was smiling at me. I didn't look at the pure mama-joy on my own face. I looked at the extra pounds and I wanted to cry.

I'm crying now as I write this, because this isn't the way I should feel about a picture of my son and I. And this isn't the way you should feel about yourself, either, mama.

Is it healthy for me to have this extra weight? Not at all. Do I need to get healthier? I surely do (and I've lost ten pounds this past month by eating better, yay!). But that is beside the point.

The point is, I should look at that picture and remember the time that my son looked lovingly in my eyes and laughed at what I was saying to him. And treasure that moment. Because this is what life is like right now and it will change before I know it and he will be bigger and I wont be the center of his universe anymore. All I will have left from this moment in time is the memories and pictures.

Does it really, in the grand scheme of things, matter that I was at my highest weight during his babyhood? No. Its something I'm working through right now, but it can't be what I immediately think of when I think of this time of my life. I want to spend my time treasuring up these moments.

You are more than your body type, mama. You are more than the extra pounds or the stretch marks or the scars or the nose that you think is too big. Whatever it is, you are more than that.

You are the one who nourishes and loves and self-sacrifices for your family.

You are amazing, that is what you are.

And that is what you should see when you look at a picture of yourself.

God bless you, mama.

Lee