So Wrong

We went to the pool yesterday to celebrate my little brother's ninth birthday. My step-mom and I had about ten kids with us, and it was a lot of fun. Grace wore her Dora bikini and was uber-cute, of course. When we were walking to the snack bar, she was way ahead of me. Three young girls, maybe 12 or 13, were sitting in the grass and they were looking at her. One of them said, "Wow, look how thin she is!" Another said, "I'm so jealous!"

Something is really wrong here. Grace is THREE YEARS OLD. These girls were not even the slightest bit overweight. It stunned me. It shocked me. It disgusted me.

Now, I think I have a realistic body image. I know that I am about 20 pounds overweight. I know that I have a belly that makes me look like I am a little pregnant, and there is more fat on my thighs than I would like. It bothers me some, but not enough so that I won't put on a bathing suit and enjoy a day at the pool. In high school I barely weighed 115 pounds, and I ate everything I wanted. I will never see those days again, and I am perfectly fine with that. I don't need to look like a super model to be beautiful, or to be happy.

How am I going to keep Grace from this completely distorted sense of what is beautiful and attractive? How can I keep from ever hearing the words, "Oh my god, I am so fat!" come out of her mouth? I could just cry for those poor girls that are forever going to feel like they are too fat and too ugly because of what the media and society make us believe we should be.