What I Learned From This Beach Trip

I came from a weekend beach trip with some girl friends. We've been friends for so long but this is the first time we've gone on an all-girls trip. We had to book and pay a month in advance to make sure this trip pushed through.

As we made a supposedly 3-hour drive into a 6-hour one (because we got lost, refused to ask for directions and just basically goofed around), I thought to myself what a gift it is to have friends you can completely be yourself with. We laughed easily at the same things, didn't mind silent stretches and knew a lot about one another that we didn't have much explaining to do when we told stories. I could trust these girls with my life.

One sour note though (for me, at least) is how we women can focus so much on our physical flaws. That is particularly most evident on a beach trip. As soon as we changed into our swimsuits, all I could hear was different variations of "I'm so fat".

I don't mean to say I am exempt from feeling fat and complaining about it. The truth is, I am still getting used to the several pounds I've gained since I got pregnant and since I stopped running. There is that practical side of not being able to use a lot of my old clothes. That thing depresses me, I must admit.

But I think it's sad when we focus on our weight too much. We women are so good at putting ourselves down.

I wish we can just learn to be comfortable with whatever weight we are in at the moment. And if we aren't, to stop complaining about it too much and instead do something. No use pinching the parts that hang out of bikini bottoms. Live with them for the moment and make up your mind not to starve yourself but to exercise and eat sensibly. If that is what you want.

I think what's important is that we're healthy. A few pounds ago, I wouldn't have had the credibility to talk about this. But now that I'm more rotund (isn't that word so nice?), I realize how unhealthy it is to keep putting myself down each time I look at myself in the mirror or each time I can't button up a pair of jeans.

A friend of mine said a long time ago that when you feel uncomfortable (because you're self-conscious), you make the people around you feel unpleasant. And that if you're just relaxed and not self-conscious, you make people feel relaxed and good. I think I'd like to be the kind of person that makes people feel relaxed and good, at whatever weight or shape I'm in. :)