Beauty

One of the blogs I follow is Crunchy Betty, who always has fun ideas for natural homemade skin care concoctions. Making my own skin care has become a new hobby of mine, as I learn about the dangers of the chemicals in conventional products and see results from new essential oils and giving up shampoo. Today though as I skimmed my Google Reader (quite full of unread posts as Jer and I were gone for the weekend celebrating our anniversary) I came across Leslie's post on beauty, and her struggles with weight and self-image. This is a struggle I can relate to, having gone through years of being the fat, frizzy-haired girl who never got a second look from the guys, to a diet-and-workout obsessed girl finally experiencing what it was like to be thin, to a woman now who has been dealing with health issues that have caused all that weight previously lost to come back with a vengeance. Right now I am working on my health and trying not to worry about my weight, but I will admit that having a loving husband is one the biggest reasons why I am not wallowing in a sea of self-pity and loathing. He encourages me and reminds me that I am beautiful, and truly, when I am held in his gaze I am the most beautiful woman in the universe.

But even so, I need posts like Leslie's to remind me of how far I have come, and how important it is to support each other in our quest for self-love. I'd encourage you to check out the post, as well as the comments. Whether you are struggling yourself with these issues or know people who could use some encouragement, it's a good discussion. Someday I hope to have daughters and I pray that I will be able to guide them through the process of learning to accept themselves as beautiful creatures, beloved of God, designed for a purpose and a destiny.

Am I Really That Unusual?

I was chatting with a woman yesterday, someone I had never met, who also works in the banking industry. She's probably 5 years older than me, very polished, seems successful in her career. I don't know anything else about her. We were talking about life and careers and marriage and I mentioned that I probably won't be working in banking in another year or two. She asked why, and I said that I was planning to have kids in a couple years. She turned a surprised face to me and asked incredulously, "you could stay home?" as if that was the most shocking thing she had ever heard. Why yes, I am a fairly successful woman in business and I would rather be a stay at home mom.

We continued to chat with the other woman there and a reference was made to life at home and how if I wasn't going to work every day I could "make a nice dinner" for my husband. I said that I already love to cook for him, and that the night before I had made butternut squash ravioli from scratch. At this, the woman's jaw hit the floor and she said, "who are you?" Somehow it was inconceivable that I would choose to head home from work, roast a squash, knead pasta dough, saute mushrooms, and put it all together for dinner. Yeah, that was one of my more elaborate meals, but I make dinner almost every night, unless I am really tired or busy, and then Jer steps in and cooks me a tasty frittata.

Am I really that odd? My perception is that there are thousands, maybe millions of successful women who every night leave work, pick up their kids, and make a nice meal for their family. It might take effort and planning, but they make it happen. I also know for sure that I am not the only gal out there who is or will be satisfied being a stay at home mom. The blogosphere is more than enough evidence of that. So why was I such a surprise to this woman?