My body, minus the fat

I have stretch marks, and a little more skin on my midsection than I used to, and parts of me are dramatically lower (when not artificially elevated) than they used to be. Also, a significant amount of my hair has lost its pigment. So yes, I am gray, saggy, soft, and stretched. And, oddly enough, I like that. (I don't like the fatty deposits on my butt and hips, but that's a different story.)

I'm not so proud of my post-children body that I'd run around in a bikini, but I don't dream of tummy tucks and boob jobs, and if I woke up tomorrow in some 80s movie plot where I was once again a teenager, I think I would miss my more mature body. (Not my figure, but the body it is currently ruining.)

I've never liked my body. My chest was too small or my hips weren't round enough, or my legs were too spindly. But now that my body looks like it's done something, now that it shows all the badges of actually having created people, I respect it. I know that that mark there came from Ryan and those over there came from Tommy (and we'll see what the next one gives me). It's no longer a matter of being genetically cursed by bad luck but of being a mother. I like that. (I just don't like the parts that show I'm lazy and eat too much greasy food.)