Lately, my son asks me, over and over, “What are the reasons why you love me?”
I tell him he is kind. I tell him that he cares about people. I tell him that he makes me laugh, that he is smart, that he is a wonderful singer. I tell him that I love him – value him – for so many reasons that I couldn’t possibly count them all if you gave me a million years.
My daughter’s not old enough to ask me this question, but she will be soon. And when she does, I will tell her all the reasons why she is special, why she is worthy not just of love, but of everything. I want her to feel proud of the books that she reads, of the dreams that she has, of the uncountable things that make her so remarkably her, and I want her to know that not a single one of these reasons has a thing in the world to do with the size of her thighs, or the circumference of her waist. Because I know from experience – from the years that I spent with worries about my body taking up space in my head that could have (and should have) been used for dreaming and exploring and imagining what could be – how hard it is as a woman to remember what people should really be weighing you on.
This video from Lean Cuisine – which you should really watch; it’s wonderful – says that if we’re going to weigh something, we should be weighing what matters. In it, a series of real women are asked what they wish people would “weigh” them on besides their weight…and their answers are beautiful, ranging from a Dean’s List letter to a set of barbells to a child. What I would put on that scale in the video: my book. Not because it’s perfect or because it was wildly successful…because it’s mine. I dreamed of writing it from the time that I was four years old, and I wrote it, and I want my children to see that what you dream, you can do.
Share what you wish people would weigh you on besides your weight on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #WeighThis – in a few days, I’ll be posting a few of your submissions so we can all see the many things we have to be proud of besides what we see when we look in the mirror.
This post was created in collaboration with Lean Cuisine.
