I don’t know why this topic popped into my head today but it did. So here we go.
We all envision how someone “should” look. It’s sort of a stereotype. We expect people to look a certain way and it’s often women who get judged more about their looks.
Athletes should look fit and muscular. Distance runners are all thin. Gymnasts are short and thin. It’s often girls in sports that get judged but that’s not all.
How is a mom supposed to look? After 1 kid? After 2 kids? After 5?? I know people have said “you don’t look like you have 4 kids (before I had Bryce.) What is a mom of 4 supposed to look like? Disshelved, worn out, stressed out, not in shape?
Then when people saw me when I was going through cancer treatment and then returning to work. “You look great, you don’t look like you went through what you did.” Am I supposed to look sickly, like crap, frail?
I am here to tell you women can stay fit even with multiple kids. Yes it’s difficult to fit in but it can be done if you prioritize it. Moms can be fit and and athletic.
I am here to tell you that you don’t have to look like crap after and while going through chemo and cancer. It’s rough and you take a beating but it’s temporary. The worse part about the hair loss is it’s the giveaway you’re going through chemo and have cancer but what can you do. I’ll take lifesaving treatment over hair any day of the week.
You can still be active while undergoing cancer treatment. You can still carry on as normal as possible. Yes you are exhausted and limited but I had 4 then 5 young kids and had no choice but to keep everything as normal for them as I could.
How is the average woman supposed to look? Small waist and legs and little muscle? True story. I worked at Old Navy for a number of years while in college. They were owned by Gap and Banana Republic. I was a different size bottom in each of these three stores. How confusing is that? Stores all under the same ownership don’t even have the same sizes.
Sadly you remember a lot of stupid things from many hours working retail. I remember finding a pair of jean shorts super cheap that I thought were my size. I tried them on and my coworker in the fitting room couldn’t stop laughing when I showed her. They were tight booty shorts because I have muscular legs and a smaller waist. Women’s bottoms seem to still be made for small waist, small thighs and that doesn’t work for athletic builds.
As I was writing this post, the Cindy Crawford skin care commercial was on for about the thousandth time if you watch Lifetime. And I laughed. Is wrinkled skin really that bad? Was your pigmentation really so faded after 4 pregnancies? Are people really stunned that you’re only 50?
But it’s because of that pressure of standards we make up or have for how women are supposed to look. We then get surprised if someone breaks that standard.
I’m a fit mother of five and cancer survivor and while I’m not turning heads I think I look pretty good for all I’ve been through. It’s ok to be different. I’m different in many ways and this is one way I’m very proud of.
#cancersurvivor #hairloss #chemo #momoffive #breakthestandard #fitmom #athleticmom
