This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one here.
Three, embrace.
I am sitting here, staring at my phone, wondering how this snuck up on me.
At first I thought “I can’t write this. I haven’t bounced back yet. I still have the scars, the weight, the changes.”
So I decided to sit on it. Obviously I wasn’t ready to write it yet.
And somehow over a week that has completely changed. It snuck up on me and I didn’t know it was happening until it was already over. I accepted my changes and embraced the new body I find myself in.
Ok, yes, it is still my same body. And that’s the beauty of it. My body has not changed from a week ago. But my mindset has.
My mindset has changed.
Embracing my body and the place I am in physically is so important to me. I have had many mental and physical illnesses to work through and deal with, and I’ve learned that pushing things aside just won’t work anymore.
It does more harm than good to push aside normal feelings.
And being uncomfortable in my own skin after such a dramatic change is normal.
I think that once I recognized that, I was able to let go.
I sat with the uncomfortable feeling of not recognizing my own body.
And I took the time to get to know her.
I am still me.
My postpartum body is not supposed to look exactly like my body before having a child. It is supposed to change.
But I am still me. I am still the Sarah who loves to sing and create art and watch crime shows.
The best part? The way my body looks does not in any way change those things.
I realize and accept and embrace these changes in my outward appearance.
And my worth as a person, as a woman, and as a mother? That does not change when my physical appearance changes.
Embracing my new body feels so good.
XO,
Sarah
