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When an ass is so much more

 Body image. Body positivity. 

Or about coming to an appreciation for a previously much maligned back end. 

In junior high (that's middle school for all of you non boomers), I was given the nickname "big butt Bowen". It was a nickname that stung because I did indeed have a large ass. I tried to mask it, a difficult endeavor since the current fashion (and remember this is junior high when fitting in was paramount) was wearing hip hugger jeans with midriff tops and my disguise of choice were peasant blouses or dresses. That style choice earned an additional nickname, Mama Cass. For those of you that don't know who Mama Cass was, she was part of the Mamas and Papas and known for her beautiful voice but also for her large body. All about Mama Cass


I was cruelly nicknamed at a time when nicknames can really mess with a girl's psyche. And I spent a lifetime as that girl with the messed up psyche. I'm sure there are more than one of you out there that can relate.

But, (pun kinda intended here) there is a dose of glass-half-full-nish. Though it's taken a good long time to get here. My large derrière is now tres chic as evidenced by the large number of women enhancing their backsides some even going to the extent of surgical enhancements. I've witnessed this a lot recently with my own two peepers.

I am ahead of my time, a trendsetter. My ass isn't just an ass, it's an asset. But alas, no one really sees how since now my asset is now mostly disguised by being in my wheelchair. 

Appreciate what you've got. Better late than never!



Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...

Why "The glass half-full?"

I believe there are two kinds of people - those that see the glass as half full and those that see it as half empty. At different points in our lives, we can change from one to the other - having a great run on life and the glass is half full but once that run ends our perspective is likely to change. At this point in my life, my glass is not only half full but sometimes overflowing. And it's not because life is free of troubles, it's because I know that I'm not in the driver seat and that I'll be okay because God is the driver. It would be THE time to switch perspectives - with my husband of 22 years recuperating from a grueling seven-week cancer treatment for his throat cancer, and having a sister currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and the other still not at the five-year mark, and all three of us having multiple sclerosis and . . . well, you get the idea. I could be switching to a more pessimistic attitude but it's not in me because I feel His prese...

The Peri-Empty Nest Years

I am in the midst of a 'peri-empty nest syndrome'. Don't bother wondering where that syndrome came from - I just made it up. It's a combination of perimenopause and something else I can't quite remember right now. But that something I forgot was some sort of syndrome. My nest is slowly emptying. Michael is away at college and comes home on breaks; though he may get an internship this summer and not be home at all. Matthew as a junior is looking at colleges and is busy with a myriad of activities and friends and is home between the two (activities and friends). Delaney is busy with rehearsals, practices and friends in Holland - her new high school is there. And I am the mama bird at home in the nest that still needs to be cared for watching her birdies fly away or on test runs for the big fly-off. It is a strange feeling. Everyone I know that's an empty nester says it's great after the initial shock wears off (the dads say it takes about 30 minutes, the...