A new perspective (SS)

For years I have been cursing my body for being fat, being tired, not working the way it use to; but, after watching a video that my mother had made us of collected home videos, I decided to look at this issue of me VS my body differently.
In this video, I watched myself grow from a crying (actually screaming) infant in a crib, to a very pretty young woman of 17 in cut-offs up my ass and halter top. My hair covered both my back and my ass. Actually, if you really want to know, I was quite the looker. I had a great body!
This sent me looking into a box of photos for pictures of myself. I wanted to see where I changed, where things went fat.
When I dated my daughters' father, I was still hot. Still wore cut-offs up my ass and tube tops (remember those?). OK, I got married and pregnant. I looked good pregnant. In fact, unless you saw me from the side, you would never know I had a baby in my belly. In between babies, I was again hot...my hair was short and I look skinnier than before I had baby #1.
Baby #2 comes along. I was a fat pregnant woman and it shows (I believe I gained 45lbs w/ her). Hummm.....
Nothing changed from that pregnancy much, except I kept getting fatter. I can prove it in the pictures. My kids grew up and I grew out.
So where do I place the blame? Kids? husbands? Genes?

How about me?
I take the blame.
Nobody has a relationship with my body like I do. It is mine. It is the place I carry my brain and my heart. It is my soul's home. It is my temple, if you think biblically.
My body hasn't done anything to me, I have done my body wrong. There is nothing wrong with my body except what I have done to it. I'm sorry for this. I wrote my body a letter to apologize and I would like to share it with you. You might want to try writing your own letter (to your body, not mine).

Dear body,
We have been together for almost 49 years now and I have spent a considerable amount of that time neglecting you. For this, I am truly sorry. You have always been there for me. You were my constant companion on all those long runs we took; all those 880 yard races we won; you carried my most precious cargo for me--my daughters; in our youth, you helped me taunt those boys in that yellow bikini and those cut off shorts; together we baled hay, rode horses, swam lakes; you helped me be the boy my father never had, learning to hammer, use power tools, canoe and fish; and all the men in my life have held you and loved you, so that they could love me.
I am sorry for mistreating you. I am sorry for not taking better care of you, my body. Hopefully we have another 49 years together, but if we don't, what ever time we do have, I am forever from this day, your keeper.
From this day forward, I will treat you with the utmost respect. I will nourish you with healthy food; I will give you plenty of exercise; I will rest you when you are tired. Hopefully I can undo the wrong I have done to you.
SS