Body Part Appreciation Day

/ roughwighting

body part, body imageI’m trying to think of a body part that I like. We women are always told that we’re too critical of our bodies, and in theory, I agree. Each of us is formed the same, and yet so differently. We have the trunk, two legs, two arms, two hands with five fingers on each. Two feet and ten toes, and then, of course, there’s the head.

Aha! I just thought of the body part I like.hair, scalp

My hair.

Oh, is my hair a body part?

I guess not. Darn. But the statement is false anyway. As a teenager, I hated my hair: too thick and curly. As an adult, I love just those attributes, particularly as I hear friends complain about their thinning hair as they watch strands slink down their shower drains.

Okay, body part, body part. Um, should it be my neck, my toes, my knees? No, I can find fault with all three.Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck, body part

The neck is getting gooselike. I remember reading Nora Ephron’s book I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.  I was rather happy as I read her lament, since I didn’t really believe it would happen to me – the shriveling and wrinkling of my neck. Well, who’s getting the last laugh now?

My toes buckle with arthritis and my knees are swollen at times from overuse.

How about my fingers, my belly, my scalp? Um, noooooooo.

My fingers look alien-like with their creased knuckles and fingernails that are always begging for a manicure. My belly – ACK! – puffy and pudgy.

[I could never flatten my stomach even as a teenager – unless I lay on my back in bed. I used to pull up my tight jeans that way (after I read a book in which the 20-year-old character wore her tightest jeans by lying in bed and slowly inching them over her hips and zipping them over her flattened belly.) It worked. But trying to stand up as stiff as an ironing board from the prone position was not a pretty picture.]

brain, body part, body image, scalpWhich leads me to my scalp. Well, what’s wrong with my scalp? My thick curly hair hides its imperfections. It’s not too big or too small. It protects my soft twisty puzzle-like brain.

Perhaps I should thank my scalp more often.

body parts, body image

I wonder what your favorite body part is?

Most photos thanks to Google Images. Except the hair. The hair’s all mine.

 

69 thoughts on “Body Part Appreciation Day”

  2. Let’s make our hair a body part. My hair is holding up, everything else is going down the drain. I really don’t care anymore as long as all the parts are working. Who cares about the rest!

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    • I’m with you, David. My ears still work and they still hold up my glasses, without which I would be mostly quite blind. My legs also work and my spine has not shrunk, so they keep the top of my head where it belongs, 6′ off the floor. I will be grateful for small favors.

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  4. All my parts are moving south, slowly. I am still amazed that at 57 my hair is still mostly brown…the profile photo of me is accurate. And completely natural. What woman is happy with her tummy after childbirth? That’s been a problem every since 1979!

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    • My daughter-in-law has had three babies in under six years and still has a stomach as flat as a pancake. Hard to love her, but my son does, so I try. 🙂
      P.S. Love your au naturel profile pix.

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  6. You do have beautiful hair! And, the rest of you is A+, too! Hmmmm, not too many body parts I’m that fond of…..I think I’m with David on ears! My parents finally let me get my ears pierced when I was 16 and I have always enjoyed wearing fun, funky, pearl, hoop, etc earrings!

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    • What a great image – firmer veins to keep our blood (life flow) moving. So important, and yet, I have not yet heard of a ‘firmer vein exercise’ out there. If you learn of one, let me know!

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  9. I love some of the comments, here…very funny. Pam, I laughed out loud at the “neck” paragraph because I can totally relate. I’ve always had a young face, but my neck reveals my lie!

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  10. Ooo, I’m jealous because I’m someone with thinning hair. My favorite body part: my eyes. They’re blue and I often get compliments. Forget the chicken neck!

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  11. I had to weigh in on this! :-))
    My neck. I used to worry about that soft skin, too. But I was told all my life, ‘you can’t have everything’ so I’ve accepted it, finally. My hair is okay, I haven’t gained a pound since I was sixteen and people tell me I have nice cheekbones—hey, what else could an ( old ) girl ask for? 🙂

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  12. Such a funny post! I’ll say my legs though my husband is quite fond of my butt. Too bad it’s so close to the belly that’s had a baby. Major thanks to whoever invented the one piece bathing with the miracle “hidden panel”.

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  13. You are a funny lady. Thanks for this post. ❤ Sometimes you just have to give up control, 'cause you're going to lose it anyway. 😛

    I recently bought a new mousse and I love my hair. So, that's my fav body part. The rest are doing their own thing and I try not to interfere. Best that way. 😀 😀

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  14. Oh, Pam, it’s not about individual body parts. It’s about how those parts moosh into the whole. You, my pal, are the complete package.

    And, as you well know, I am jealous of people of people with big feet.

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    • I promise you, big feet are overrated. But anyone who calls me the ‘complete package’ gets my utter and complete devotion for the rest of his natural life. (Hmm, maybe even for his ‘un’natural life?)
      P.S. If you know how that expression ‘his/her natural life’ ever came to be, please share it. Maybe you could even write a blog about it. With a body part or two thrown in…

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  15. Loved this! As we get older, it can be tough to claim a favorite body part. Then again, it is when we’re younger too, because we spend far too much time worrying about our imperfections, which, quite frankly, nobody else is noticing. But if I had to pick a favorite body part, I’d cheat a little and say my brain. Without it, life would be rather dull. Then again, I wouldn’t be aware of the dullness, would I?…

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    • The brain is the choice I wish I had made (but I was just so focused on my thick head of hair – ha ha). Yes, the angst about my body parts was much worse when I was younger. With the wisdom of age, we realize that the imperfections are what make us perfect.

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  16. Well, since the old gal (me) keeps getting up every morning and functioning without too many glitches, I gotta give her a hug and say “thank you” for carrying me through another day without a major disaster. Are there things that could be improved? Sure! But nature is full of imperfections and most of see her beauty, not the imperfections. That’s how I try to see my body–I focus on all the stuff that works…unless I have a migraine. Then it’s hard not to be critical of my body, which feels like it is my enemy. But, everyone has those days, right? My legs are still shapely, lean and free of varicose veins and my boobs are ample, symmetrical, not totally falling down and real. At 57, I figure I’m ahead of the game! 🙂

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  17. I’m reasonably happy with my overall package, I’m not sure I could necessarily pick a favourite, and each part I could tell you what would improve it, but overall I’m not complaining! My hair though, that is my WORST part, I’ve always had bad hair, it’s that type of hair that isn’t straight or curly, but just gets kinks in it and it’s never smooth, it’s just rough looking, I mean I know what to do to make the best of it, and I can make it look reasonably good but I have to spend a lot of time on it for that – good hair is probably the only thing I regularly find myself envying in others, I know most people have to do something with their hair to make it look reasonable, but trust me, mine is worse!

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    • Who needs good hair when she has a face like yours? Don’t you wonder if you were given challenging hair so you’d end up pulling it back and showing off your eyes/nose/mouth/cheeks? My guy is constantly pulling my hair away from my face and telling me to show it off more. (But he doesn’t get the point, I like hiding behind my hair, which is probably not a good thing.) We women are quite complicated, aren’t we?

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  18. I’ve never even bothered to think about my scalp 🙂 thanks for bringing that particular body part to attention. (I used to admire my flat belly when on my back in bed as a young girl.)

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  19. Pam, another thought provoking and very humorous wighting! I have always loved your hair and I do count that as a body part. Can’t say as my butt is my favorite body part, but it does look good even after all these years. This is not from working out religiously, it’s from a lower spine abnormality that makes my butt stick out and look good (if you like a 20 year old butt on a 66 year old man)!! However, my favorite body part is my liver. I must have good genes in this organ, because all my liver tests have come back healthy. This is absolutely amazing when one takes into account all the abuse I’ve put it through over the years. Being a child of the 60’s this includes not only the alcohol that’s passed through, but a wide assortment of other chemicals that significantly alter my mental state of being. Yep, it’s the liver for me!!

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    • I sure hope we run into each other in real life (instead of the virtual world). Besides the fact that I think we’d have a great conversation over a cup of tea, I’m afraid the first thing I’d check out is your elbows. I remember the crusts on my dad’s elbows, and how he got them by sitting at his desk, working, with elbows holding his arms up, fingers in clasped position, as he thought. I think my elbows are starting to encrust too. I salute your smooth and lovely elbows!

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  21. You are too funny, Pamela. About the body: I’ve still got my hair thanks to taking a thyroid supplement which prevents hair loss from hypothyroidism. I’ve got legs that don’t limp, a heart that beats with the help of medication to keep it from running too fast, kidneys that work and a bladder that behaves as it should. My hands are wrinkled and I have crows feet but my glasses help to hide some of that. I’ve got my own teeth. I think I have most of my marbles in place in the upper story. Last but not least I’m alive and I thank God for a body that still works even though not perfectly.

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  23. Based on that photo, you’re beautiful, kiddo. As for me, my eyes have always been my favorite feature. Everything else may shift and move, but my eyes have been resolute in their defiance of age! 😀

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    • Aww, shucks, you two are sweet and now I’m preening. I’m not beautiful, but I sure like to find beauty in the world – and in my family and friends – when I look through my eyes. If I had been replying to this post as a reader, I think I’d say my favorite body part is my eyes also. I truly do believe they can be a window to the soul.

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    • Thanks for reblogging! You’re the first to mention their grin, and without a good grin, we’d all be sourpusses. Thanks for the reminder to appreciate our upturned lips. 🙂

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    • 🙂 During a summer college job as a waitress at a golf club, an old golfer told me I had Loretta Young eyes. I had to look up Loretta Young, but then I felt complimented. I’m looking up Alma Mahler now…

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  27. Fun stuff! I look back at pictures of when I was young and didn’t like how I looked, and all I see is this beautiful person who didn’t know what she had. Isn’t that always the way? These days, I think my hair is doing okay, but I would say my eyes are what I like the best…looks-wise, anyway. My vision is going to heck, though. So maybe I should stick to hair! 😉

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    • Oh my gosh, so true. We look at old pictures of ourselves when we were unsure and so hard on ourselves and now see a lovely young woman. That’s why I enjoy that movie with Kathleen Turner – “When Peggy Sue Got Married,” where as a 40-something year old she returns to high school. Soooo funny.

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  28. My hair…. definitely! I have great hair! Always have! I am blessed with the thickness and texture. Unfortunately my *ahem* “natural” color is salt and pepper. I am as white as can be on top and the rest of it is gray, silver and a mousy brown. However, I go to see my stylist every 5 weeks and I keep it a beautiful shade of blond. I will never! ever! go gray (willingly). I shall be blond for the rest of my days! LOL!
    I know, I know… hair doesn’t count. 😦
    So I guess I do have a body part I actually like. My feet. I have small, perfect size 7 feet and I keep them pedicured and toes polished. We ain’t gonna talk about aaaaany other body part, because they ain’t up for discussin’! HA HA!

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    • You must be so much fun to be with! I love your sense of humor. Yes, you are forever blonde (and I am forever not-quite-blonde-but-certainly-not-gray-ever). Your feet sound like Cinderella’s – do you own a pair of glass slippers? 🙂

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  29. Hmmm. I’ve got thin blonde hair. I chew my fingernails. My arms are no longer pumped, and my legs are starting to get that chicken-y look. Abdomen not flat at the moment, but the rear is flat. Perhaps I need to sleep on my back more to reverse the settling. My toes and ears are OK. Oh, and I like the color of my ears, although I have sparse eyelashes. I try to not to spend too much time thinking about this, so I’ll be on my way.

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  30. My reading glasses have become my inseparable and most appreciated body part lately. After all, I wouldn’t have been able to read your humorous and lively post without them.

    On a serious note, well may be not so serious, my back is my favorite body part because I can’t see it with or without my glasses 🙂

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