Facing your Fears and Living to tell the Tale

I am involved with a group of lovely ladies that inspire me each and every day.  There are no boundaries to some of our discussions. Yesterday was one of those days.  It started when Lolli over at Better in Bulk stumbled across one of her friends posts on Babble showing beautiful women who had given birth.  Elizabeth over at Party Planning Professor took a different method and showed how Cars 2, made her happy with herself.  Loved this read as well!  All three stories are an inspiration and I hope one or all of them help you to face your fears.  There are many faces that our bellies show.  Some may go back to pre-pregnancy and others are more decorated.  Either way, these looks are our badges of honor.

So, what happened yesterday you ask?  Lolli had posted a picture of her belly.  You can see her post in the first link above.  She had five kiddo's.  Yep!  Five of them!  In this phenomenal group, we had belly shots flying all over!  It was the most beautiful thing!  As someone there said, we housed the next generation of our futures.  I was scared, to be perfectly honest, to bare all and show mine.  I am one of those, not comfortable in my skin.  I've gained, I've lost, I've gained, etc, etc.  It's a never ending battle.  We feel like we have to be these perfect women according to the fashion magazines.  So, I wear baggy clothing and loose pants.  I don't want people looking at me like I've failed a test.  No one but my ex-husband and an ex-boyfriend has seen my postpartum belly.  I even stopped trying to go out on dates because I am afraid of going into a relationship and having anxiety of showing a new person my body.  It may seem silly, but, in my mind, I feel that I am being judged and left lacking.

So, while this was, (as stated by a mom there) a bonding experience and there was no pressure when I expressed my anxiety, I knew what I had to do.  I faced my fear of ridicule for the way I look and bared my belly for all to see.  I will admit that right now, I am not brave enough to post this picture here.  Not that I am ashamed of it, I am just a shy person who really went outside the box and braved one step.  I'm not ready to take another step yet!  But, another mom there gave me permission to show her belly!  This is the blogger from Simple. Green. Organic. Happy.  

I hate, hate, hate her!  LOL.  Read this as I adore this woman and would follow her to the ends of the Universe.  She gave multiple births and had the fortune of a fantastic gene pool that bounced her right back.  If you looked at the other posts above, you can see the very diverse bellies of those who gave birth to baby(ies).

The point of this post is, facing your fears and letting others see how beautiful you are, regardless of shape or size.  Be brave and step away from the line that most people follow.  Even if you do it in baby steps like me and about 20 other women, and show yourself to a group of women you know you can trust your life with, like we all did yesterday.

I would love to say a big THANK YOU to my mom's for letting us show who we are, battle scars, badges of honor, proud stretch marks and all.  I love you ladies.

Thank you all for letting me ramble a bit about my fears and insecurities.  I hope this is a help to someone who may feel the same and know they are not the only ones who feel this way.