Beholden to my Body

I stand in awe of my body.

Henry David Thoreau

American women seem programmed to dislike their bodies.  If we are unhappy with our bodies, we will buy products that will make them less repulsive right?  If we were not too old, too young, too round, too flat, too curly, too straight, too light, too dark, too voluminous or not voluminous enough, would we be willing to fork over money?

Despite its flaws, I am grateful for my body.   There are a lot of amazing things it can do.

Here are just a few of the feats my body can accomplish:

Walk

Run

Climb stairs (both up and down…have you ever watched a toddler master this skill?  It’s tricky. And I can do it!)

Sing

Eat (with utensils even!)

Breathe

Heal

Sleep

Type

See (Distinguish color/depth/distance)

Hear (tell the difference between how many million sounds?)

Solve math problems

Read

Remember

Kneel

Laugh

Stretch

Skip

Jump rope (I used to be able to…I haven’t tried in awhile)

Ride a bicycle

Twirl

Crack an egg open without getting any shell in the bowl

Dance (not well)

Play the piano

Knead bread

Lift

Carry 4 gallons of milk at once

Kick

Pull weeds

Wink

Water flowers

Move furniture

Fold laundry

Drive

Dribble a ball

Swing a bat/swing a racquet (with or without desired contact with ball)

Change diapers

Rock babies

Buckle a seat belt

Tie my shoes

Roll dice

Hold Uno cards

Shuffle cards

Wash dishes

Set the table

Decorate a Christmas tree

Form a snowball

Build a snowman

Peel carrots and potatoes

Slice fruit

Kiss

Hug

Load the dishwasher

Apply band-aids

Get slivers out

Braid

Paint fingernails and toenails

Brush hair

Rake leaves

Carve pumpkins

Write (both print AND cursive!)

Give birth (three times)

Incredible!