Stretch marks are Sexxy

When I was a kid, I was one of those rough and tumble, tomboy types. Instead of sitting inside playing with Barbies or an Easy Bake Oven, I was usually outside playing tackle football or capture the flag, or climbing (and falling out of) trees. Don't get me wrong, I had my fair share of Barbies and board games, but I preferred my Legos on a rainy day to dress-up.

So when I was falling out of trees and cutting myself up, I discovered I was a picker. You know the type, I was the kid who smeared Elmer's glue on my arm and let it dry so that I could peel it off, and the one who after getting a sunburn (yep, colored folks burn too) would peel the skin off. Sounds disgusting, but I couldn't help it. I would peel tape off of desks, and paint off of walls, and anything else I could get a grip on. And when it was my own scabs, people always told me I was going to cover myself in scars.

My response?

"Scars give me character"

And I know that the last blog I wrote on stretch marks implied that I only had one. And at the time I wrote it, I did only have one, but since then, specifically the last month I was pregnant and gained 14lbs, (I only gained 34lbs total, but yep, I went from "cute" to "about to explode" in one month) I also gained quite a few stretch marks too.

But here's the thing: I look at these stretch marks the same as I do my scars. They give me character.

For the rest of my life, anyone who sees my body will know that I am a mother. Even after my baby pouch is gone, and I fit in my old clothes again, my body will still have these marks. And I'm damn proud of these marks. They remind me of how amazing the female body is, that it can grow and nourish another person for at least 9 months. And I think anything that gives you confidence, in your own talents or abilities or intelligence or just in your worth as a person, is damn sexy.

So sorry Teresa and Brandon and anyone else that used to see me run around in my bikini or my short-shorts... it's still going to happen. But in the future, you'll be blessed to get to see more of my "character."