My husband called me last night to tell me how excited he was to be able to team up with a few guys from his men's group to shop for Christmas presents that will be given to a few local residents at a motel in town. His enthusiasm and passion for helping those less fortunate in our own neighborhood rang like a sweet song through the phone and reminded me how my husband is just so freakin' genuinely kind-hearted it makes me want to shake him and bear hug him all at once.
RAWWRRRR!
And then....dun, dun, dun. That annoying feeling of guilt reared it's ugly head because instead of being the do-gooder that I like to think I am most times, I was instead preparing to head to the gym. To work out. To be healthy and athletic and to somehow convince the world that I'm this disciplined athletic type. But truth be told, I was headed to the gym because the little girl inside of me who still sometimes care too much about what people think of me, is ridiculously terrified of becoming best friends with cellulite and flabby thighs well before I'm at that age that I'm supposed to have them.
Wait. What age is ok to have cellulite?
My poor husband (and my dog) have seen me wander in front of the mirror a few times and have minor meltdowns when I've surely spotted a hint of that criminal called dimples/cellulite/AGE on my thighs. And many a time, I'm sure, that if my dog could roll her eyes along with my husband at my "I'm getting FAAAAAAAT!" rants, she would. Hecka...totally...would.
And isn't ironic that I am a portrait and glamour photographer for women? That my job is to capture women at their best, today, just as they are. Believe you me, I'm sometimes deaf to the TRUTH that I am ok just as I am today. Selective hearing and all tends to be at it's worse around certain times of the month - I ain't gonna lie.
It's funny because I set out on this photography endeavor looking to bless women, to encourage them, and in the process each experience has actually blessed, grown, and encouraged me. I've met extroverted women and introverted women. Techie women, women counselors, mothers with crazy kids, women with grey hair, women with blond hair, some with curves, and some without. And really, it's a beautiful thing how diverse women are.
I'm not jumping for joy at the idea of grey hair (the few I have stick up like a crazy tv antenae - what the heck?!) or cellulite or future PMS-y rants in front of the mirror. But every day, I'm learning little by little by little by little to be ok with me just as I am. And every time I am communicating to the woman in front of my camera that she is beautiful just the way she is today, believe me, I am talking to myself as well. My Maker says it and HeAnd I'm learning to listen.
Happy Thursday!
RAWWRRRR!
And then....dun, dun, dun. That annoying feeling of guilt reared it's ugly head because instead of being the do-gooder that I like to think I am most times, I was instead preparing to head to the gym. To work out. To be healthy and athletic and to somehow convince the world that I'm this disciplined athletic type. But truth be told, I was headed to the gym because the little girl inside of me who still sometimes care too much about what people think of me, is ridiculously terrified of becoming best friends with cellulite and flabby thighs well before I'm at that age that I'm supposed to have them.
Wait. What age is ok to have cellulite?
My poor husband (and my dog) have seen me wander in front of the mirror a few times and have minor meltdowns when I've surely spotted a hint of that criminal called dimples/cellulite/AGE on my thighs. And many a time, I'm sure, that if my dog could roll her eyes along with my husband at my "I'm getting FAAAAAAAT!" rants, she would. Hecka...totally...would.
And isn't ironic that I am a portrait and glamour photographer for women? That my job is to capture women at their best, today, just as they are. Believe you me, I'm sometimes deaf to the TRUTH that I am ok just as I am today. Selective hearing and all tends to be at it's worse around certain times of the month - I ain't gonna lie.
It's funny because I set out on this photography endeavor looking to bless women, to encourage them, and in the process each experience has actually blessed, grown, and encouraged me. I've met extroverted women and introverted women. Techie women, women counselors, mothers with crazy kids, women with grey hair, women with blond hair, some with curves, and some without. And really, it's a beautiful thing how diverse women are.
I'm not jumping for joy at the idea of grey hair (the few I have stick up like a crazy tv antenae - what the heck?!) or cellulite or future PMS-y rants in front of the mirror. But every day, I'm learning little by little by little by little to be ok with me just as I am. And every time I am communicating to the woman in front of my camera that she is beautiful just the way she is today, believe me, I am talking to myself as well. My Maker says it and HeAnd I'm learning to listen.
Happy Thursday!