Deb
Reader, Thinker, Writer, Lover.
Crossfit/Body Image/Fitness
felix-koutchinski-FOro6jhMw30-unsplash
There are girls who walk through the world
like an artic fox or Debussey
stepping lightly
not leaving a mark.
*
Sometimes I envy them
in their size 6 jeans and their perfect hair,
their sweet voices never loud, never offending.
They are loved, they are easy.
*
But then there are girls like me
who enter rooms like a bull or Bon Jovi.
Our feet leave a mark
Our voices break open spaces
previously held by men
and by those who benefit
from silence.
*
Our thighs stretch against our jeans
thick with the work of
breaking horses and playing volleyball
and enjoying a steak.
*
Our hair is only considered when it’s in the way.
Our butts are big,
Our traps—a bit unladylike,
but we need them for lifting things
Like Justice.
*
We don’t hesitate to speak
We refuse to be small
when the world tells us
we’re too big.
Anyway, we couldn’t be small if we tried.
We don’t have time for small
when there’s work to be done,
things to be said.
*
Sometimes I envy those girls
who fit so well into small places,
small conversations.
I envy the ability to pass unnoticed
while I always seem to say too much,
take up too much space.
 *
But Too Much is my calling,
My superpower,
My gift to a world
that wants small women,
but will be forced to deal
with the big ones
Until they are not “too” anything—
They just are.
*

 

alan-carrillo-477712-unsplash
***

Oh, Crossfit. I stare at my jump rope for a minute before the workout starts, hoping I will have some sort of epiphany. I mean, after 6 years, one deserves an epiphany, doesn’t one? Double unders – getting the rope under my feet twice for each time I jump – have been my nemesis since the beginning. There have been some ugly moments that include crying, throwing the jump rope across the gym, and threatening to choke my coach with it. On the (questionable) recommendation of a friend, I even slept with it under my pillow for a while and spoke sweetly to it. If you ask me to do single unders, I can do them till the cows come home. Doubles? Not so much.

Read more…

IMG_6846

Have you ever looked at a photo of yourself, having the time of your life, and you forget all about the day and zero in on all of your body flaws? Yeah, me neither. ;) Like, I didn’t even notice the flabby belly, the squishy thighs, the too large shoulders, the chunky bum,  or the farmer’s tan, you guys.

Here’s a tale of competing voices – which one will win? Which one do I want to win?

 

Wow, I have the shoulders of a football player. Why do my traps grow so fast when I lift?

I just put 75 pounds over my head! FEAR THESE TRAPS, FOLKS.

Read more…