Too Tight

Like the uncomfortable bra digging into the sides of your chest or the supposedly “barely there” underwear you paid extra for, that somehow keeps riding up….women are used to dealing with discomfort.

Many of us have 1 or 2 dresses in the back of our closets that’s just a little too tight, but we wouldn’t dare give it up. We know there will come a day when we will be able to squeeze ourselves into it. Whether we can eat or breathe while wearing it, is another story.

Women are amazing creatures. It seems almost from birth we’re expected to balance the needs of others while simultaneously figuring out how or when to meet our own. Let’s take the too tight dress example…Every few months or once a year you find it and try it on again. You look in the mirror and when you suck in your stomach and stand a certain way holding it all in, it almost fits, but then you can’t hold it in anymore.

It’s like life. Women tend to love with their whole being- for better or worse. Most of us try to be everything to our families, friends, kids, significant others and still be our best at work. We often jump in head first. The nurturing that’s in our DNA can be downright exhausting at times. There comes a time when each of us has to realize we are responsible for our own comfort and happiness. Instead of waiting for someone to come along and realize that you need to breathe, why not take off your too tight dress, unhook the bra, and take a grown up time-out. Recognize your amazing ability to love without abandon, to be “all in” for others and while doing that realize that taking care of yourself is not selfish but necessary for your well-being.

Take the extra long bath, jump into the hobby or dream you keep putting off for lack of time, put the phone on silent and stop holding it all in. I dare you.

“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul” (quote by Luther Burbank).