To My Younger Self,
Today at the gym, I caught a glimpse of a girl who reminded me of you. She strolled into the class with an air of confidence, accompanied by her mother. Her gaze swept over the older women preparing their lighter weights, flaunting her toned legs and deliberately selecting the heaviest dumbbells to showcase her fitness level. Instantly, I thought of you. You believed that physical appearance was the sole measure of fitness, viewing fuller figures as weak and unappealing.
If only you could see me now, you’d be lamenting the size of our thighs, desperately trying to hide our upper arms. If you looked in the mirror, you might drop your fork in shock, vowing to switch to diet soda and low-fat yogurt. But what you don’t understand yet is the strength that lies beneath the surface.
My thighs, though dimpled and fuller than yours, can carry an 8-year-old up a flight of stairs after they’ve dozed off on the couch. My arms, despite the extra skin, can hoist a squirming toddler and manage four bags of groceries in a single trip. Those abs you admire, hidden beneath a layer of skin, have endured far more than a hundred of your sit-ups could ever achieve.
Sure, you can run your races faster than I can, but let’s see who reaches the playground first when a child tumbles from the swing. While you sprint without breaking a sweat, I’m navigating the marathon of parenthood, managing it all just fine. My daily life has me racing up and down stairs to track down forgotten items, hauling a wagon loaded with kids and gear to the pool, and juggling laundry loads while lifting children to reach the monkey bars.
Remember how Mom helped you move into your college dorm? Now, I’m the one packing and moving boxes without waiting for assistance. Carrying my family’s needs is more demanding than lifting a mere ten-pound dumbbell.
On many days, I do all this on just five hours of sleep after being woken by a child’s nightmare or a fever. When moms pull an all-nighter, there’s no sleeping in the next day. The physical demands of parenting pale in comparison to the mental resilience required to keep it all afloat. You can run an obstacle course deftly, but can you handle dashing through the grocery store, shuttling kids to soccer practice, rushing another to the doctor, and planning a road trip—all while managing emails and calls? Probably not.
You may have the muscles, but you lack the true strength that comes from endurance. Moms push through exhaustion, headaches, and mental fatigue. You’ve changed your major multiple times in a semester, but I don’t have the luxury of dropping this class—ever. This is what we call fortitude, my younger self, and it takes years to truly grasp its significance.
So enjoy this time while you can, flaunt your toned physique, and capture every moment in pictures. But know that this phase won’t last forever. You will grow, and one day, you will experience the kind of strength that comes from nurturing others. Your clothes may fit differently, and your skin may not be as firm, but you will find yourself in the best shape of your real life.
With love,
The Amazing Older You
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Summary
This heartfelt letter to a younger self contrasts the superficial ideals of fitness with the profound strength gained through motherhood and life experiences. It challenges the notion of physical appearance as the sole indicator of fitness and highlights the resilience required in parenting.