Tell Us What You Love About... YOU!

It's 2:30AM and as I was laying in bed not able to sleep (which unfortunately happens to me waaaaay too often), I am thinking about Valentine's window displays. So what to do for a Valentine's display that has some impact, and is not your run of the mill hearts and flowers...

Post-It Notes! 

I've seen so many posts on social media lately about body positivity, body image and acceptance of your body just as it is right now. Don't get me wrong, I think that is seriously awesome; anytime we can settle into being just a little more gentle and loving with ourselves is a good thing right? Although, as the mother of an eight year old daughter and 14 year old son, it does worry me that so much emphasis is being put onto body image and what you look like (or don't look like) and not necessarily into developing yourself as a whole. When did being a well rounded person fall out of fashion? Have you ever heard Aristotle's quote "The whole is more than the sum of its parts"? That quote got me thinking that we are so much more than just our outward physical appearance. I think, as a western society, we have gotten so caught up with being satisfied with the outside of us, whether with improving it or accepting it, that we neglect to acknowledge that we are more than just our breasts, our booty, our lips, our face, our hair... We are human beings that have so much more to offer than just what we see reflected back to us in the mirror. You may not always like what you see in the mirror and it may be a work in progress learning to love yourself just as you are today. But there are parts of us that we all love, even if you have to dig way down deep to find them, not just our physical parts or what we look like but the really important things that matter about ourselves that make us who we are. And that's what I want our Valentine's display to reflect what you love about who you are as a whole.

For me, as someone who has struggled with depression for about 15 years (since I was pregnant with my first child) and has had to work through a lot of feelings of never being good enough, thinking about things that I love about myself a few years ago would have been really hard, if not impossible. But as I approach my 40th birthday in a couple of weeks I realized that as I journey into the second act of my life, I better damn well start recognizing those things - because the next 40 years are going to go awfully quick...

I am a good friend

I am a good wife

I am a good mother

I am a good daughter

I love the bosom that has nurtured 2 babies at it

I love my smile

I love the way my eyes crinkle when I laugh

I have a great sense of humor (at least I think so!)

I love that I am a great problem solver (even though I can't read a map or follow written instructions to save my life!)

I love that I am creative

I have a strong work ethic

I am caring and compassionate

 

Although it feels really weird, and a bit boastful to actually write these things down - and for me, the physical attributes that I love are still a pretty tough one - it feels kind of liberating, and the more I write down, the more I am able to think of.

I want to know what you love about you - as a whole person, human being and inhabitant of this planet - not just limited to the sum of your parts!

So this month, stop by the store and write what you love about you on a post- it note, or leave a comment here or on social media and we'll write it for you. We will compile them all together in our window to show everyone that you love who you are as a whole person and what you bring to the crazy party that is life!