Having spent the last
three years either pregnant or breastfeeding, my body is finally getting a
break from all this baby business. And it turns out that carrying, delivering,
and nursing two infants back-to-back has had some lasting effects on the old
bod. I won’t go too far into the gritty details, but let’s just say
some contents have definitely shifted during flight.
This look pretty much says it all |
Part of my birthday
present from Mike was a Victoria’s Secret card, which I swiftly redeemed for
some new bras. I heaved my double stroller into the shop, passing the delicate
lacy combinations that would have driven my husband crazy, only I couldn’t
bring myself to try them on. It just felt too silly – was I really going to
where that in between Gymboree and grocery shopping? Instead I made for the
dressing room with kids in tow, opting for two sensible cotton bras and some no-frills underwear. While trying them on, I couldn’t help but examine my reflection. There
I stood in my beaten black yoga pants (mind you, I haven't done yoga since 2005), and what I saw
was a sloppy mom holding cotton underpants. What the hell had happened to me?
Mike, on the contrary,
seems somehow to get better and better looking with each new kid we
have. The physical wear and tear of having young children – the tousled hair,
the scruffy face, the wrinkled clothes (he’s kidding himself if he thinks I’m
ironing), the tired eyes – he wears it all with a kind of casual, effortless
masculinity. While I’m at war with varicose veins and a gradually sagging ass,
my husband’s post-baby body exudes nothing but youthful sex appeal. It is
maddening, to say the least.
Remarkably, my husband
insists that he’s the schlub, the one
who’s let himself go since having kids. I guess it goes to show how becoming a
parent does something to your own self-perception. Even still, when you’ve been
with someone for the better part of a decade (and that person has literally
watched you give birth. Twice.) you have to count yourself lucky if they’re
still interested in making out with you. Somehow Mike is, cotton underpants and
all.
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