She used to race, Nikes flashing across worn asphalt, Lakefront wind slicing against her, heart pounding, flying free.She swam, limbs threading Lake Michigan's rough, cool waters, gulping air, rocketing herself forward, weightless. Back then, she measured her worth with numbers: pounds, pace, calories. Afraid of everything and nothing. She once saved two men from drowning.Nearly … Continue reading My body, a wonder
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Beautiful
She looks in the mirror violet crescents shadow the delicate space below her tired eyes ring fingers tap cold cream trace new wrinkles etched in the corners and here’s an annoying pimple in her reflection, // her eyes move to her softened belly, once ballooned to carry a baby small breasts, once swelled to feed … Continue reading Beautiful
Gets better with age
In my early twenties, I worked for a large, progressive Presbyterian church on Chicago’s Gold Coast. I’d graduated in 2008 with dreams of working for a magazine or newspaper, but this was the year of the financial crisis and although unpaid internships beckoned, I could not afford to take them. I needed a paying job. … Continue reading Gets better with age
Making peace with my post-baby body
It happened on a Tuesday morning. I stepped on the scale and it there it was, the number I’d been longing for—my pre-baby weight. Seven months had passed and finally all 50 (yes, 50…) pounds I’d gained via pregnancy were gone. This moment I’d built up in my head, this goal achieved felt strangely anticlimactic. … Continue reading Making peace with my post-baby body
Speaking out for women’s rights
I wasn't going to blog this week. What I wrote was more personal, more political than I intend for this space. When I woke up this morning, nine days out from baby's due date and on day five of fighting a never-ending cough, my first thought was of my dear friends, fellow church members, coworkers and women/men/others … Continue reading Speaking out for women’s rights
