It was over a decade ago—a few months after William was born—that I caught a glimpse of my body in a full-length mirror and worried about what I saw. And it was over a decade ago that Penny, age three, happened to catch my eye in that mirror. While I was critiquing my body for not looking like it had before the two children, while I was bemoaning the crinkles on my face, Penny saw something else. She looked up at me and said, “Booful, Mama.” Beauty.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and felt old? Have you noticed the lines on your face or the extra roll around your middle? This week’s Reading Small Talk podcast explores that all-too-common experience. Instead of looking with critical eyes at ourselves, what if we looked with eyes of love? What if we could see ourselves as beautiful? What if we see beauty when we look in the mirror.
Listen to the Reading Small Talk podcast wherever you get your podcasts or download the abridged audiobook of Small Talk. This podcast is especially for those of you who are at home with little ones in this season of isolation and social distancing.
{Small Talk: Learning From My Children About What Matters Most is a series of reflections from my past few years of parenting. It is not a how-to guide. It is not filled with advice. It is, I hope, a word of encouragement that good things can emerge out of the hard but ordinary everyday moments.}
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Want to read more? Here are some suggestions:
- On World Down Syndrome Day, Some Thoughts on Beauty, Vulnerability, and Love
- Hope and the Spiritual Imagination
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