a call to arms, chubby arms

Tick tock goes the clock… slowly, slowly inching towards next Saturday. I've been daydreaming on pinterest, every piece of advice has been noted, the location of bars and restaurants have been memorized, I'm ready to go. Yesterday we did a trial pack and weigh so we could figure out which suitcases and/or carry-ons we need. Everything fits and we are well under the weight restrictions. Two carry-ons would do the trick if we didn't have dress-up clothes.  Fuss and fidget.

Today is a day for doing not much of anything other than drink tea and stare out the window at the white stuff coming down. It was already falling when I woke up, but wasn't sticking around. Slowly, as the day has moved on, a white layer is icing the trees and ground. It is the inevitable abominable that comes with living someplace where it gets cold.

Yesterday we joined Trudie & Leo, and their friends Dave & Wendy, at a local theatre for a live production of 'Calendar Girls'. Carm and I both enjoyed it immensely. The ladies were brave for their peeps of nudity. I'll admit to tearing up a few times during the production - it was sweet and sad at times. I don't know if I'd have the nerve for standing naked, even for a minute, and even behind some well placed props. I am influenced by a good measure of self criticism and bad body image. I should work on that (and not just by starving myself).

Most women that I know are terribly critical about their bodies, but men seem not to care about their pot bellies and sagging bottoms. We've been brain-washed into believing in the unattainable.  Do you ever pass a mirror and say yuck, I'm too fat, or whatever? It is time to stop.

I did venture out this afternoon for a little bit. The dogs ran around for a minute, then Kabira retreated to the front deck, shivering and shaking. The rest of us did the short loop around the field - I had my hood pulled tight around my head. The poodles ran, almost naked, through the driving snow. When we were done, I didn't have to ask Spike twice to come back inside. Sometimes he is a little bug…. devil and is slow to respond.

"Step Away from the Mean Girls…
…and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks.
Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others.

This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world.”
~Oprah Winfrey