Now don't get me wrong, I still have a wee bit of love for my legs, I can still see the calf muscle definition for all those years of figure skating and running in track & field. These legs have carried me most recently on a many hikes around the Pacific Rim National Park. There was a hike that almost winded me with the amount of stairs I had to climb (note to self, you need to work on your incline cardio work outs huff, puff & wheez). My legs have been thru quite a lot. Even at an early age I got my 1st scars on my right leg. I was playing hide & seek with the neighbourhood kids and I was running fast, tried to hop over these decorative cinderblock in my next door neighbours yard and scrapped the skin off my shin right to the bone. (note to parents everywhere, don't put a "fuzzy" like cloth on a gash like wound, it makes it hard for the ER Dr.'s to pick out fuzzy fabric before stitching your kid up). However this scar has a story to it, as do all my scars I have, trust me there a lot I was an active child.
As I grew up by the time I was 12 years old I was 5ft 10.5in tall. I was an oddity, the tallest girl in my class till grade 10, that's when most of the boys caught up with me. By 13 years old I had my 1st signs of stretch marks. Oh this pinkish lines on my upper thighs by my hips. Still have them today just a few more than I did back then. That's when I had my 1st "self hate talk" about my body. No model had stretch marks. I idolized Christy Turlington, Linda Evanglista, actually all the top models from the late 80's. I wanted to look just like them, but I didn't and I knew my life wasn't over because of that fact either.
Every woman's nightmare ( insert horror movie music) .... cellulite, spider and varicose veins. Now I know I'm not the only one with lovely and ever so charming leg enhancers. NOT! In my late 20's till my 40th year on this earth, I tried it all to make the cellulite go away. Nothing worked. I've learned to accept and work with it in my life. I still wear shorts and bathing suits. I'm not going to hide away from life in a caftan as I'm too embarrassed to show off my legs. I have a varicose vein that isn't the prettiest thing either on the outside of my right leg. Recently I went to see a specialist about it and he told me, " Yes, this isn't attractive, but it isn't causing you harm at this time. We will deal with it later once it causes you pain as the surgery to remove them is painful." That's good enough for me and walked out of his office with my head held high. I maybe vain, but not that vain anymore. Also, most of the men and women in my family have them. It's like we are our own club. YAHOO!!! I know there are medical proceedures to remove both Spider and Varicose veins. They can be quite painful for some but for the most part they are both just unsightly to see especially as a woman we want the youthful, elegant legs we all had as a teenager.
In the end all of these are not what we want on our bodies, but they are apart of most of our lives. For those of you who may not have any of these, be thankful that you don't. Most of us who do are green with envy of you all. The rest of us, well put on that bathing suit, wear your shorts, your Capri pants and that dress that sits just above your knee. Show the world you're not ashamed of the cellulite, the stretch marks and our many spider and bulging varicose veins. The world isn't smooth, nor are our legs. Embrace your "flaws". Be brave, be fearless, love your body for what it can do and has done for you. As I've said it before and I'll say it again and again, no one can love you more than you can love yourself. You're worth it! ❤️️️️️️️️NYTS
