These hips don't lie...

When I was in middle school, I started to notice that my previously childlike frame was growing more...buxom.  I seemingly had boobs overnight (I was even accused of stuffing my bra...loudly...in the middle of the cafeteria...ugh), and then I noticed my jeans getting tighter even though my tummy wasn't getting any bigger.  Nope, my hips were starting to show my Italian heritage.  I remember lamenting about it in 8th grade in the locker room one day after gym class.  I looked around at all the other 8th graders who all still seemed to be so...narrow.  Me = hourglass.  Most other girls = rulers.  A classmate of mine told me I had a fabulous figure (if you know who you are, and you remember this conversation, my almost 32 year old self now appreciates the comment even if 12 year old me didn't).  I don't think I realized until that moment that I had a figure.  I was 12 or 13. I still had braces.  I still would rather do almost anything than make out with a boy. Don't get me wrong, I liked boys (a lot of boys- you might even say I was "boy crazy"), but I had zero interest in doing anything other than holding hands (I may or may not have gotten dumped a few times over my "prudish" ways- I gotta say, I regret nothing).  

Over the years, I've struggled with my weight.  I got depressed in high school and put on a lot of weight. I fell in love my senior year (with my now husband) and lost a ton.  I gained back some in college when we spent 5 nights a week drinking and ordering fried chicken and pizza.  I've fluctuated all over the place through the years.  One thing has always remained, whether I was a size 2 or a size 12- and that's those big hips.  When I was younger I had no appreciation for them.  I saw nothing sexy about them.  I banged (and still bang) them into corners almost constantly. For one thing, it's hard to dress them; especially nowadays when my upper body is SO teeny tiny (I'm now a pear shape, I suppose- with a super tiny upper body and those same big hips with a little bit of mommy belly thrown in).  I can never find pants that fit exactly right on those hips without a gap the size of Texas on the back side.  

Then yesterday, as I balanced a full laundry basket on one hip and my 20+ lb son on the other, I realized these hips are damn useful.  Not only am I able to balance lots of extra weight on them when I'm doing a million things around the house, having such big hips helped allow for really quick, uncomplicated childbirths.  My Cami girl was a 6.5 hour labor, 3 pushes; and, well, Benny flew into the world after a 2.5 hour labor and one push (I'm not even really sure you could say that I pushed...is it called pushing when they are pretty damn adamant about joining the world that fast??).  And the pants? Well, when I DO find pairs that fit correctly, those hips fill 'em out pretty nice.  I'm not sure if Cami girl will inherit these Italian hips of mine, but if she does, I hope she can come to appreciate them the way that I have as an adult.  And...to the girl who mentioned my figure in middle school- thanks again :)