Jenaya, I've been staring at your post for a while now, trying to settle on something along the lines of kayaking, scuba diving, or the beach to share. The only thing I can think of, though, is love.
To be honest, I don’t have examples in my life of heavy people in healthy relationships. The statistical expanding of America’s waistline seems to have missed most of my corner of the country. My world is full of thin friends and family who have paired off, but the very few of us that are fat are still alone. I have friends who have said encouragingly (as something to look forward to), “When you lose the weight, you’ll find someone!” My mother was really thin when my parents married, and from the moment she gained weight, my father has been cruel to her about it. He hasn’t said mean things to me about my weight since I was in high school, but I constantly worry about what he thinks of me, knowing what he’s said to her over the past 20 or so years. I fear that the world is full of men who think like him. I have let fear run my life, even though I know better. It's like I'm hoping that the thinner me will be braver than I am.
You all on this site have been such an eye-opener for me. To see so many of you with supportive spouses and partners regardless of your size has shown me a side of life I haven’t seen in my own circles. So thank you for that!
I’ve heard people say that you can’t expect someone else to love you if you don’t love yourself first. I’m sure that’s true, and truth be told, I struggle with doing just that, but I’m working on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lessofsarahtolove
Gone are the days when I put any dreams on hold. I've come to realize that's just completely wasteful. It's your soul that matters -- not the perception of others -- I say feed it! It takes a leap, but it's so worth it!!
I know with all my heart that you're right, Sarah! Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned. We’d all be wise indeed to take it to heart and put it into practice.
Jenaya, good topic. It's really made me think...