Ribs

Somewhere over the past decade (during two pregnancies, I guess), my ribs expanded. Among various other changes, my ribcage actually got bigger and stayed that way. My feet did the same.

I have accepted this as an immutable reality. My ribs are just bigger. They will never again be squeezed into a size 2 strapless dress. That’s just the way it is.

I found myself wondering about this recently, as I struggled to zip and clasp a (size 4) strapless gown. I realize the challenge for me is not the fit in my hips or across my stomach–it’s my ribs. They’re just larger. It’s not my bust or excess weight on my chest–it’s absolutely the fact that my ribs expanded during pregnancy.

I have no trouble accepting this body change–the same way I am squarely a size 9 shoe now. There’s no shame in admitting that my feet and ribcage are bigger. Why can’t I feel the same way about the rest of my body, the parts I CAN change through diet and exercise? Why can’t I accept that my body might just be different in different life stages–that my thighs or calves or hips might also just BE bigger now?

Day 85.