My body is not perfect by any means. My fingernails are uneven and haven't had a good manicure in a LONG time. My toenails need trimmed. I currently need a shower. My graying hair needs to be redyed sometime soon--the three grown out inches do not blend well with the rest of my chestnut brown hair. It also needs a trim. When I fail to put mousse into my curly hair, it's the frizziest mess you'll ever see. My thighs touch (gasp!). My belly is the furthest thing from flat. My arms could give someone a black eye when I wave at people. I have no eyebrows or eyelashes unless I draw them on. I rarely wear make up. I've got a black chin hair that grows back more rapidly the older I get. I've got wrinkles around my eyes. I've got stretch marks and dry skin on my body. I've got a double chin in pictures.
And yet I am more beautiful than I've ever been.
My finger nails are uneven because I was so busy coloring with my kids that I forgot I only filed one hand. I failed to trim my own toenails because my daughter wanted her toes painted "just like mommy's pretty toes." I didn't shower this morning because I wanted the fifteen extra minutes of sleep after being up until 1:15 a.m. (no I wasn't up with a child, I chose to binge watch "Once Upon A Time." Don't judge).
I haven't made time for a hair appointment because I've been having too much fun living life: an extra busy Christmas season spending time with those closest to us, I published a book, I went on a trip, I've taken my kids to the science center, we baked cookies, I took my kids sledding, I grew my business, I made new friends, I held new babies, I had date nights with my husband.
I often don't put mousse in my hair so my kids can easily play with it. They love seeing how big it can get and I love that something that simple can make them laugh.
I carry the extra weight that comes with having three kids in under four years and not being able to afford a personal trainer and too busy to make time for a 5 a.m. class at the gym. Yet, I hike for miles on a whim with my kids. I haven't worked out my arms in years because, well, I really hate arm exercises. And I'm okay with that because I'm finally aware of all that I truly dislike, what I can stand, and what I love to do.
I hardly notice my lack of eyebrows or eyelashes. I'm just thankful to have not had any other medical issues. It's amazing how little focus others put on your flaws when you yourself no longer notice them.
I can be beautiful without the make up. It's fun to done a full face of make up, a cute outfit, but that's not my day to day attire. I feel just as beautiful and more myself in my yoga pants (which has a growing hole in the thighs from them rubbing together) and an oversize sweat shirt than I do in my new Banana Republic number that I spent too much money on.
The chin hair I could do without, but if anything, it shows my age. An age that I am at ease with. I don't dread becoming older because I can look back on my years and know I've lived them with no regrets.
My wrinkles are from smiling because I'm happy, laughing, and smiling my way through life. This is something my grandma once told me as I danced on her feet around her kitchen and something I've never forgotten. It's something I tell my children to remind them to smile through everything.
My stretch marks and scars tell the story of my last 7 years. The story of my children's births, of my love of dark chocolate, of my surgeries. They show the maturity that I've come to find in my journey through motherhood.
How does any of this accumulate to being beautiful? Because beauty isn't how you look, how much make up you cake on to cover the flaws, and it's most definitely not restricted to a size. Beauty is embracing who you are. It's living your life the way you want to live it. It's embracing your flaws and owning them. It's confidence in yourself and willingness to try the things that you're unsure about.
I may not be the 5'11 size 6 twenty one year old I once was, but now I've got something I didn't have then: I've got the belief that I have the power to do anything I want. I have the power to laugh at myself: at the finger nails being different lengths, my hair being extra frizzy, my stretch mark shaped like an S for our last name (according to our kids), my chin hair that I forgot to pluck away before I left the house, I've got the confidence to simply be me.
Once you learn to love all of yourself and be yourself, true beauty will shine.
What is does beautiful mean to you? My minis answer my question here: