Last week, I met up with my mom and brother to shop for a dress that I could wear to my niece’s debut. I brought Baby Anne with me and we ended up having lots of fun with Mama and J. I rarely get to spend time with just my mom and it was a big blessing that J could join us.
That’s my brother, J, with Anne and me. :)
It was a bit depressing for me at first though, because I still haven’t lost my pregnancy weight and look about five months pregnant — at least, in my opinion. I had to try on a few dresses before I could find one that didn’t show my bulging tummy. 🙂 I was happy, too, that the price of the dress fit my mom’s budget, tee hee! She wanted to treat me to a new dress so I let her. Here’s a shot of me wearing the dress (but not a full shot, ha, ha!) at the party, with my loving husband, and another one of us with all the kids (thanks to for the photos):
Now, ordinarily, I’d prefer shopping online at sites like Zalora, but I’m thankful that I was able to go on that mini-shopping spree that day with my mom and brother. You see, trying on all those dresses and being tempted to buy myself Spanx shapewear (or letting my brother buy me some — he offered to!) made me realize, or rather remember, a few things:
- A woman’s body is made by God for a great purpose, and bearing the “scars” of pregnancy i.e. post-pregnancy weight doesn’t make one any less beautiful. Neither do stretch marks and varicose veins and “bad hair moments.”
- What makes you beautiful is ultimately who you are inside. This may sound cliché but it’s true. When you’re feeling pretty on the inside, it shows on the outside.
- What makes you beautiful is your love for your Creator, and your loved ones. Yes, I may have a flabby midsection right now, but I have three children darn it, and although my goal is to be healthier and back to my pre-pregnancy weight soon, I will not let my appearance affect my disposition and how I care for the people I love and cherish.
- What makes you beautiful is the love you extend to others. It’s kindness, gentleness, compassion, generosity that make one truly beautiful. I can’t claim to consistently exhibit all these traits but I’m striving to.
At her debut, my niece made her grand entrance by singing “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera, and I couldn’t help shedding tears of pride and joy watching her. I want to share a YouTube video of that song, with the lyrics, here, and I invite you to sing along with Christina, because really, you are beautiful, no matter what they say.
Good post, Mama Tina. Good reminder, as always.
There is this poet reader on YouTube talking about how our society defines beauty, about how so many of us are so good at finding the right dress but remain clueless on “where to find fulfillment or how wear joy.”
Eventually, she declared that should her daughter ever asked her if she would be pretty, “I will wipe that question from your mouth like cheap lipstick and answer, No! The word pretty is unworthy of everything you will be, and no child of mine will be contained in five letters. You will be pretty intelligent, pretty creative, pretty amazing. But you will never be merely ‘pretty’.”
Thank you for sharing about that poet reader’s words, Mommy Blessie! 🙂 I’d love to see the actual video! Praying you and your loved ones are safe and dry!