I have two posts in my head this morning so I'm going to combine them into one.
First, I am NO LONGER BIGGER THAN A BABY ELEPHANT!!!! I needed to post a weight under 250 in order for me to qualify this in my brain. The average baby elephant weighs 250 lbs at birth (according to the Brookfield Zoo and some websites, but not all) and today I was beneath that!!
I am feeling less crazy today then yesterday and my eating was perfectly fine yesterday as well. I am glad that even though I don't always have great control over my emotions, I am gaining better control over my eating.
Part II - Fat Ballerina
There was a girl in the ballet on Sunday (a teenager) who was much heavier than most of the ballerinas. I'm torn on how I feel about this. Part of me was proud of this young lady for dancing because she loved it (she was on pointe and everything) and not worrying about her body. But there was a part (probably the mother in me) that was sad for her and how much ridicule she must get for being the "fat" ballerina in the studio. She had to be 50 lbs heavier than the other ballerinas. I am torn whether I think her mother is awesome for encouraging her in ballet or annoyed that she is encouraging her daughter to publicly display herself. Don't be outraged at this post. I am working through my thoughts on it. Of course she has every right to do what she loves and I applaud her courageousness. (I am not so brave- I won't even have a family portrait done because I'm so fat). I just was overwhelmingly sad for this girl. Maybe I shouldn't be. I just know too well the ridicule I got as an overweight teenager. I can't imagine how it would be if I donned a tutu and danced in front of an audience of hundreds.
Today I am volunteering at a Workforce program for teens that have been identified as having difficult times interviewing and getting employment. We will be doing mock interviews with these kids and giving them pointers. It should be interesting.
Happy Tuesday!
I have worked some shows (doing sound/lights) for recitals & things from a nearby dance company & i have seen the fat ballerina. It kind of amazed me too. (1) because she could actually DANCE like that, that is NOT easy to do (I for one have NO BALANCE at this weight). (2) because i found it surprising that a ballet company would let her in. That part made me HAPPY for her... they accepted her & let her be a part of the dance team. I actually was around the girls a bit backstage & she seemed to fit in & get along w/ all of them - there wasn't any name-calling & it seemed like there probably wasn't ever (b/c they all seemed to be friends). I think the mom would encourage it b/c it's a form of exercise & it's good to encourage exercise that she loves, you know? But yeah... i understand where you're coming from. It has to be hard on her, though. I did dance once in a play at my size (i was playing a whore, too haha! Best little whorehouse in Texas). And i STILL cannot believe i did that! But i am proud that i did it & i had several audience members come up to me & thank me for doing it!
ReplyDeleteOh! Congrats on being smaller than a baby elephant! :) :)
Congrats on being smaller than a baby elephant :-) I never knew that's what a baby elephant weighed (man that means I am BIGGER than a baby elephant...blech!).
ReplyDeleteI'm happy the girl is dancing. I love it when I see 'larger' people doing things they love and that others think they shouldn't be doing because of their size.
It's a possibility that she doesn't even think about her size. I know a couple people that have always been big and they never even thought about their weight or the shape of their body. They did everything and fit in with everyone. Everyone accepted them for who they were.
I think things are changing now, for this generation. As a teacher, I have worked with several "bigger" girls who just simply rocked the confidence thing, and played all kinds of sports. Their communities and school was very supportive. I'm sure it's not like that everywhere, but I think there are pockets of real acceptance in this younger generation.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on being smaller than a baby elephant?!? That's a cute analogy! I am now bigger than that, and that is a good goal!
By the way, glad to have found your blog again. I just started blogging again, after a looonnng break!
Congrats to you for being smaller than a baby elephant ;)
ReplyDelete