Weighing In for 2020

When I was a child, the start of a new year always meant a time to see how much physical changes had been made over the previous year. Before the Rose Bowl Parade could be watched on TV, my sisters and I had to parade around in our pjs while the scale was dusted off and the yardstick was located. It was our annual time to be measured, both in height and weight, in order to see how much we had grown in a year. My mom would pull out her spiral notebook and with pen in hand, readied herself to record the new numbers while my dad lined us up against the wall. Thankfully it was in the privacy of our home with just our parents and each other, but oh how I hated it.

See, I was “blessed” with an overactive metabolism and therefore known as the “skinny girl”. No matter what or how much I ate (and I could eat a lot), weight did not stick to my thin frame. I had no problem growing vertically, however. In fact, it would not be uncommon for me to spurt up a couple of inches or more each year but gain only a pound or two, if that. By this point, my dad had to measure my height because I had outgrown my mom. My dad would jovially announce that it was “time to put a brick on her head” while I would cringe with disappointment in the lack of weight-gain. I dreamt of the year that my weight would catch up with my height and no more would I have to hear jokes and pokes regarding my slender build. I will never forget the moment when I finally topped off at 100 pounds. It was also the year that I was able to fit into a pair of jeans (junior size, nonetheless) without any safety-pin modifications or home-made length extensions. Best.Year.Ever.

Now, I know what you may be thinking … “tough problem to have” … and I know that having a super-power metabolism is not the worse thing in the world. But for a skinny-minny, young teenage girl, I gladly would have given up some of my metabolism for a few extra pounds just to avoid being the target of body-image jokes and comments. (Words hurt, no matter your body size.)

The annual measurement parade now takes place in my doctor’s office and my metabolism has slowed “weigh” down (oh, to have just a little bit of that back). As a new year begins, hopefully the gains and measurements that we record are ones that reflect positiveness and kindness. This year, may our cheers be louder than the jeers. And may we see and celebrate our differences with words of affirmation in order to build up instead of tear down. Let’s make this the Best.Year.Ever. And remember ....
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