The more I look at you, the more the imperfections seem to shift. A Love Letter To My Stretch Marks:
To My Body,
For years, I have struggled with loving you completely. I saw flaws where I wish you were different. As you aged, you changed. But you have given me the greatest gift. A child. You made me a mom.
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The more I look at you, the more the imperfections seem to shift. You continue to amaze me. By growing a life, providing nourishment, and continuing to power on through each sleepless night, each long cry, and each change, a part of me that I once dreaded, I now see in a different light. Stretch marks.
Your stretch marks are a symbol for everything we have been through together. A lasting reminder of the life we created, birthed, and embraced.
Instead of stretch marks, I rename them growth marks.
Growth marks because we grew not only physically but emotionally.
In pregnancy, we learned how amazing you are. Moving through daily life as you grow a human within. Feeling excited together, but uncomfortable at the same time. Scared of what will be, and what you will look like after. No matter how much belly butter is applied, marks of your growth still appear. The transformation at times seems like we cannot get any bigger, and yet we do.
And then the moment comes. The miracle of birth and the first embrace of the love of our lives. But your job is not done. You don’t shrink down immediately. The marks remain as time passes. Yet I look at you and I see how much you can endure, and I am proud. I appreciate everything about you. I show immense gratitude towards you. All those flaws I once saw, disappear. I see a body that is completely beautiful.
And although at times we felt stretched mentally and physically, it was the growth of becoming a mom that truly transformed us.
I promise to always love you. Through all the changes that may come. And I thank you for your growth marks as they are permanent reminders of how incredible you are.
xoxo
