Too Fat for Pictures?

I know, I know, it's been ages since I last posted...can you believe life gets busy with two children, a full-time job, a second part-time job, and a commuting husband? It's true! But I promise an update soon. I just came across this blog post and I had to share. Go ahead, go read it. I'll wait.

Finished reading? This really affected me. I wish I had read something like this three years ago, when I was near my heaviest. I hated having pictures taken of me back then and always felt so embarrassed--even once I lost the weight, I would look back and all I would see was the chubby cheeks, the double chin, the round belly. I still don't love pictures of me from back then.

But I need to remind myself that I am my own worst critic. I may hate those pictures of myself, but just like the author of that blog post said, my husband looks at those pictures and sees his beautiful wife. My son looks at them and sees the mommy that he loves and adores. My parents see their daughter who has worked so hard and accomplished so much (at least, that's what they tell me). My friends see someone with whom they have created many fond memories. And they all loved that person--all 400+ pounds of her. The fact that I lost weight doesn't take away from who I used to be. I'm still me.

And I'm beautiful, no matter what.