tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1498105551688934461.post1359930382961947513..comments2023-12-19T19:07:44.032-06:00Comments on This Ambiguous Life: Winstead'sBecky Carletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13734821181452228650noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1498105551688934461.post-53222163239982236442013-04-17T15:40:14.198-05:002013-04-17T15:40:14.198-05:00Thank you so much, Amy! Aunties have a special ro...Thank you so much, Amy! Aunties have a special role in children's lives. I'm sure your nephews will learn many valuable things from you. They are lucky to have you. Thanks for the encouragement and the kind worlds. Peace and love to you.Becky Carletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13734821181452228650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1498105551688934461.post-41481649280172651942013-04-17T12:05:31.672-05:002013-04-17T12:05:31.672-05:00I loved reading this.
I often wonder whether my l...I loved reading this.<br /><br />I often wonder whether my life's trajectory would have changed if someone had told 5-year-old me that by age 8 or 9, I'd start developing breasts and that if I just kept eating from a variety of foods and participated in fun activities that I loved, that eventually, my body would find its own "right" shape and size. Instead, I was consoled by family members that by puberty, I would "shoot up and slim down" which was supposed to mean that I'd grow taller and my weight would be redistributed so I'd be slimmer and therefore, more acceptable.<br /><br />That didn't happen, so I learned from an early age that fat = bad and I too, got shipped off to Weight Watchers at age 12, which helped to jumpstart my years of disordered eating. When I look back at my own family members - their size, their eating habits, etc. - I recall my grandmother saying, "I'm saving my appetite for later" whenever we'd take her and my grandfather out to dinner. "Saving" one's appetite meant starving one's self all day until it was dinner and then binging on restaurant food because it was a special occasion. I never questioned the fucked-upness of that concept until I was much older.<br /><br />I don't have any children. It disappoints me but it hasn't devastated me. I am an auntie to two small boys though, and I'm always amazed at how non-judgmental children are just naturally. My sister and brother-in-law and I continue to foster that accepting nature in them, particularly around appearance and issues of difference.<br /><br />Good for you for having reclaimed your capacity to enjoy food and for being able consciously allow your daughter the same permission to enjoy hers :-)Amy Herskowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131437968543451410noreply@blogger.com