Thursday, September 20, 2007

Messages of Love

I am reading the book, Fat Girl right now.

No one recommended it to me, it simply caught my attention on the shelves in the bookstore. It is a memoir. An account of one woman's life. Her struggle with weight, her struggle with family, her struggle with friendship and with love.

My heart broke to hear the messages that were communicated to her as a young child. Messages from an absent father. Messages from her mother and grandmother.

You make me sick. Just look at you.

Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You with a face not even a mother could love. You.

Reading Judith Moore's story made me sad. The adults in her life should have taken more responsibility for the impact of their words on this child. She should have been loved. Instead, she was ridiculed by her own mother.

The story also made me reflect on the messages that I communicate to my loved ones. It made me reflect on the messages have been communicated to me...

My mother went through surgery this afternoon to remove a lump in her breast. As she was preparing for surgery she had a number of tests, blood draws, vital reads. She told her family that she was tired of being poked at and ready to "get the show on the road." :-)

In the midst of her frustration, she shared a message of love. "That's okay," she told us. "It will be worth it. Just look at the two beautiful children who came out of the doctor's poking and prodding me during my two deliveries."

My brother and I are her beautiful children. A beautiful message.

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