Song of Songs

There is something freeing about running. It takes me back to childhood and I have not a care in the world…. for about 1 minute. I was running from the barn to the house yesterday and momentarily felt exhilarating freedom as the sun kissed my winter whitened skin and the wind swept through my hair. And then I realized something was chasing me; running doggedly close on my heals, bumping into me with each stride. I stopped and looked behind me, but saw nothing. Again I started into a jog, much more out of breath and realized the thumping, jarring action was my own body rebelling in its loose skin.

I was so thrilled to lose 34 ½ pounds and fit into those skinny jeans again. As each day passed I expected my skin to tighten. I am still waiting. My body was ravaged by pregnancy #2 and it appears as if I may never recover. Song of Songs says, “Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine; Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies. Your breasts are like twin fauns, like two grazing gazelles.” (7:2-3) Well, my twin fauns have gone grazing down to the fertile folds near my navel. The junk in my trunk was in an ill-fated fender-bender, propelling my mounds of wheat down a land slide into an unfortunate lumpy, bumpy pile now in need of "control top," "uplift," and anything else that will promise to put back what nature stretched out.

I recently saw a beautiful, tan, and perfectly toned, bikini wearing model on the front of a magazine toting, “She lost all her baby weight in 5 months. Follow this step by step guide to looking great after pregnancy.” I hastily grabbed the publication to find the secret as my own 5 month old cried in the confines of her car seat and the 3 year old…. where is that child? A woman interrupted me to point out that Emma was walking the side-walk in front of the store, looking for a ride home. All I saw of the article was a picture of the beautiful model eating a bite of banana ever so provocatively. I am quite sure I have never looked quite like that while eating fruit of any kind. I eat tons of fruit and tons of vegetables, drink enough water to float a barge down the Luckiamute and do sit-ups, leg lifts, and squats. Unfortunately I was unable to find the secret, although I did recover my child from the parking lot.

Even if I never regain my tight, youthful physique and have to name the gazelles “Flopsy” and “Dropsy,” at least I still have wrinkle free temples, like halves of pomegranate beneath my vale (4:3) … for now at least.