[Another weekly exercise in gratitude.]
It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for:
1) Over 300 responses to yesterday’s poll and some great discussion in the comments. Wow!
2) Ibuprofen, because I slacked off on walking for a week and strength training for mumble and both knees hurt.
3) But, despite slacking off I can and did walk a mile on the treadmill OK…
4) … and my knees feel better after doing a series of leg lifts, leg extensions and leg curls last night.
5) This post articulating what it’s like to be fat:
I’m usually the fattest person in the room. I’m often the only fat person in the room. […] When I go to the gym, I’m fat. And there’s a part of me that knows people are looking at me and making judgements – about how hard or fast I’m exercising, about how much I should do, about why they think I’m doing it (no, it’s not to loose weight, but you can’t tell that by looking). […] Whenever I go into a shop that doesn’t cater specifically to fat people, I know I won’t find anything to fit.
Some of the items she discusses, like assuming people will reject her on first meeting, are things I’ve trained myself NOT to do. Others are things I deal with every day. I think it’s a useful addition to the discussion of what it’s like to be fat.
Whether or not I am beautiful is immaterial in the face of what kind of parent I am, how I treat my fellow human beings, whether or not anyone’s lives are going to be enriched from knowing me or not — not how goddamned decorative I am. I am a living, breathing human being. The idea that because I’m female I should somehow be ornamental if I want to be valued drives me up a wall.
What are you thankful for this week?
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