Day 2 of Detox and Rebooting

So, yesterday I started a 40-day detox.  Initially my goal, I’m not gonna lie, was to lose a few pounds, but as I was preparing last week, I decided I was going to treat these 40 days as more of a reboot for not only my body but for my mind as well.  Surprisingly yesterday went exceptionally well, and I woke up this morning ready to go.  

As some of you know my daughter had ankle surgery three weeks ago and can’t drive, we have reverted to her early high school days when she didn’t have a drivers license, and I’ve fallen back into my soccer mom days.  This morning I had to pick her up at the soccer field at 9:20 and then take her to physical therapy, so I got up early, made my juice, grabbed my water and headed out the door.  

As I was sitting at the soccer field watching my daughter coach a bunch of high school girls, I wondered to myself, how was I going to reboot my mind? Restarting my diet was easy, I just put a bunch of fruits and veggies on the counter, cut them up, cram them into my juicer and drink.  But my mind, that seemed like a more significant task.  I took a minute and thought about why I wanted to reboot my life.  Well, I wanted to feel better physically, I wanted to clean my body and look at food differently.  So why couldn’t I do that with my mind?   

It’s easy to redirect the way I look at food that is not the best for my body, but what about those thoughts that looked at my body wrong.  Sitting on that soccer field, I challenged myself.  I picked all the body parts that I hated.  That was the easy part.  They shot out of my mind faster than I could jot them down.  Then I forced myself to find the good in those body parts that I hated.  That was the hard part.  Here is a list of what I came up with. 

My Shoulders – I hate my shoulders because they are so broad.  I think I look like a linebacker.  But those shoulders have held so many crying heads, comforting whoever needed a hug.  They are literally, a shoulder to cry on.  

My Neck – I hate my neck because it is short, it is starting to get a ring of age spots that no amount of prescription strength bleaching cream can fade. It sits on my broad shoulders and just makes my head look too small for my body.  But those age spots mean I’ve lived a long life, not always an easy life, but a life where I’ve made it through a lot of storms and came out with my neck holding my head high.

My Nose – I’ve always hated my nose.  My exhusband’s father would make fun of it every time I saw him, which just cemented my hate for it.  It’s a big Italian nose.  But I have an incredible sense of smell.  I can smell flowers from miles away.  I can smell cooking sauce that brings me back to my mother and grandmother’s Sunday tables.  I can smell the top of a babies head and be transported straight to when my chickens were babies.  

My Feet – I have big feet, a size nine and a half.  I spent years in shoes too small because I always thought small feet were a sign of beauty.  As I sat on that soccer field, I looked down at those feet and thought about all the adventures they have taken me.  They have been to London to see where the Queen lives.  They have been to Paris and showed me the Eiffel Tower and walked me to the most amazing croissants.  They had kept me standing when I wanted to collapse during my divorce, my grandparents funeral or when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

My arms – I have the classic Bingo wings and when I wave goodbye to anyone they flap in the breeze.  But those arms can wrap around my husband, my kids, and my mom.  Those arms hugged my sister-in-law when she was struggling with postpartum depression.  They have held 11 nieces and nephews.  

As I sat and looked back at that list all of a sudden my body flaws didn’t feel so much like flaws, they felt like assets.  Don’t get me wrong; I still wish my bingo wings didn’t flap in the breeze. But my body, flaws and all, have seen a lot of great things, came through a lot of hard times. My feet still hold me up, and my shoulders still hold my neck up so my nose can smell all the flowers.  

So as I use my bingo wings to finish off my carrot apple ginger juice, I feel grateful to my body and my flaws; they make up 100 % of me. Today, maybe it’s the lack of solid food, I am thankful for this old body.