An ode to the Body...

This morning I woke up to CNN reporting about the first facial transplant in the US. The woman’s name is Connie Culp… in the press conference she said “I’m not a monster”. After everything she has been through she is just grateful to have a nose again, to be able to drink coffee from a cup. Drink coffee from a cup… how often have we taken that for granted? After her conference was over I changed the channel and walked over to the sink to brush my teeth, I looked in the mirror at all the flaws and imperfections I notice and point out to myself everyday, and suddenly they were gone. Left behind was a body and a face full of life…full of beauty. A body covered with the scars of a life's worth of overindulgence, but a body humble enough to keep on beating, to keep on breathing. It’s the body that lets me swim, run, kick, tackle, stretch, MOVE!!! It’s a body that gives pleasure and is overwhelmed with pleasure when caressed correctly. These stitched up knees, chin and forehead reflect the battle scars of a happy and overactive childhood. The legs I sometimes say are too short, are the legs that let me get to where I want or need to be. They respond with harder kicks every time I freak out in the swimming pool because I think I’m going to be devoured by a sea monster in 15 feet of chlorinated water. These are the arms that get to hug my brother when he comes home ( and punch him when he has stayed for too long and starts to annoy me) these are the arms that got to hold my nephew Peter before anyone else (except his mom) while he was still warm from his mommy’s womb…. These arms, stretch marks, batwings and all. There is no way to express how grateful I felt to this body this morning, grateful for putting up with years of mal nutrition and mindless abuse and still having the capability of responding so effectively to change. Sure, most parts are still very flabby and fat… but everyday it gets stronger and stronger and shows me its gratitude by letting me achieve new physical goals. Mine is a body full of perfection!