Those were the words I heard upon my exit from the shower last week. And really, you can insert pretty much anything in the blank and it has the same effect. I tried to smile graciously to buy time and stammered through a vague answer about when mamas go to college and have babies and eat too many potato chips.
I stopped though. I stopped and started over with a more straightforward approach about what is healthy and what is not- including the fact that some fat is necessary. I want to be clear. I want to be straight forward and honest about health and weight as we raise these two incredible girls in a culture that worships the bodies of anorexic models.
It is difficult to answer the question “mama, why does your _____ jiggle.” (especially while trying to place the discussion into the larger context of health in general) But it is harder to sit on the couch with Meg snuggled up to me as I page through a Vanity Fair and and answer the questions like “why is that woman so skinny? why does that girl have black eye makeup and no pants? and what are those people doing?”
While I’m pretty okay with my jiggles, I expect to lose a few more of them this year as I train again for the Fox Cities US Cellular Half Marathon in September. Long time blog readers will remember that I was working on this last year but didn’t end up running. Kirk, Judith and I will be running together (and by together I mean we’re all going to drive to the start together and eat carbs afterward together.) It’s a little bit of competition but mostly its encouragement. Judith and Kirk have been more serious about training though. Until about a week and half ago I had to qualify my “I’m training for a 1/2 marathon” statement with “and by training I mean I’m thinking really hard about going for a run.” I’ve been out three times now and starting up again this year is a whole heck of a lot easier than it was last year (when Ella was just eight months, still nursing and not sleeping well at all.)
I love to run - jiggles and all. I’m not great at it but I do love it and I hope that Meg and Ella find some form of exercise that suits them like running suits me. Because I want them to be healthy. But someday… I’m going to remind Meg about my jiggles - I’m betting it will produce some giggles.