GarageGym107

It has been way too long since I’ve written, which has been the trend of 2013.  Enough of that.

Since we last talked, I’ve had some progress photos made.  There are three things I’d like to discuss, if you would hang with me that would be great.

• The BIG “50”
• Body Image
• Take the pictures

First the big fifty.  No, not reps, but years.  I turned 50 this year.  It’s nothing more than a number right?  Yes, right.  That being said, I wanted to celebrate the year in a couple of ways.  I wanted a birthday cake.  A big fat chocolate birthday cake.  Did I have it?  Yes, you bet I did.  I have had a small slice from the freezer each month since my birthday back in the spring.  Ironically, after seeing the progress pictures I’m posting in the blog, the remainder of that divine, sinfully rich, chocolate heaven went in the trash.

Our lives are so filled with other people’s idea of how we should be living. I decided long ago no-one knows me better than me so I would start living like me.  Authentically ME.  Some people don’t like it, but really I’m not so bad once you get past this gruff exterior.

Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Celebrate. It.

On to body image.  When I first saw these pictures, the old me reared up and said “see, still not there yet”.  The bells went off in my brain as if I were standing in a cathedral.  What do I mean?  I mean I am reminded albeit none too gently either, that my body image insecurity still has a small headspace in my brain.  That being said, the strong headspace took over  less than 24 hours after the insecurity showed itself.  And even better, I acknowledged it, felt it, embraced it, and moved on.

My greatest wish for all women is that we stop comparing ourselves to magazine covers, billboard ads, and lastly, EACH OTHER.  Be who we are, individuals with uniqueness of body, mind, soul.  Learn to live in your own personal greatness.

Now we can talk about the pictures.  Pictures, for me, mark the seasons in my life.  I have photos of when I was younger and skinny as a rail.  I have photos of when I was a young mom that didn’t have a clue what I was doing.  I have photos that mark traumatic events in my life, my climb to obesity being the biggest one of those.  I have A LOT of fitness progress photos that tell a story of change. Every now and then those pictures remind me I need to get them put in to chronological order.  And now, I have photos marking my 50th year of my life.

Only a few people knew I was going to have these photos taken.  Ironically, my beautiful sister-in-law randomly posted on Facebook the very weekend I was having these photos made that she wished she had taken pictures 10 years ago. She had no idea I was taking these photos.  I simply replied to her post “take the pictures now”.  So many women shy away from marking significant moments because of aforementioned body image issues.

We sit around and think we’ve got to wait until we get it all together.

Guess what?  We never get it all together.  We can improve, we can get healthy, we can have careers, we can do anything we set our minds to, but there is absolutely no such thing as “getting it all together” so let that idea flush from your minds. BE who you want to be now! Mark it, celebrate it.

Embrace each day and love it with all of your being.  We live, we breath, it’s up to US make this life our own.

With that… I’m doing all that I can to embrace what I am doing to live!