• SELF LOVE & BODY IMAGE
  • MOTHERHOOD
    • Pregnancy
    • Babies
    • Kids
  • ADVENTURE
  • STYLE
    • Interiors
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
  • FOOD

Mother's Always Right

Mum life, body image, style

  • ABOUT
  • PRESS
  • Podcast
  • Public Speaking
  • YOUTUBE
  • WORK WITH ME
  • #FreeFromDiets campaign
You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / Forgotten photos and a reminder of what’s important

Forgotten photos and a reminder of what’s important

March 6, 2017 by Molly 5 Comments

mum life and happiness

It’s raining in Devon today. Proper streaming water that soaks into your bones and leaves you feeling like a soggy rag. I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by mum life recently and the hectic nature of raising a feisty toddler, and the weather seemed like a perfect metaphor for my current mood – dark and dreary, cold and flat. But then, when I got home from a very wet run after the school and pre-school drop-off, I discovered these photos on my laptop. Isn’t it funny how a single photograph can change your mood?

I took these on a trip to the beach when we visited my parents the weekend before last. Like now, the weather was dismal – cold winds hammered us and whipped up sand into our faces, while the rain lashed our cheeks. It probably wasn’t your typical beach kind of day. But still…

It’s a myth the beach is only for summer. In fact, one of my favourite things to do in the winter is to visit the beach. No matter how cold, blustery or wet it gets, there’s something really uplifting and invigorating about being near the sea. Obviously it’s a hassle getting the sand off afterwards, and you need a gazzilion layers on to keep warm but, still, I love it.

Mum life has been hectic and dull and frustrating and chaotic recently. Our days are filled with complicated toddler negotiations and inevitable tantrums, peppered with emotional outbursts from the six year old (sibling rivalry has hit a new peak) and desperate attempts to squeeze work and exercise into an already packed day. But these photos reminded me that in between all the flotsam of daily life there is SO much happiness. Even on a wind-whipped, rain-soaked day at the beach, we are happy.

I love this photo of my mum and the two year old, squelching in the sodden sand. I think Baby Girl was trying to take on a puddle that was deeper than the height of her wellies, so my mum was doing her best to distract her from what was clearly a very silly idea. If there’s one person my toddler can be guaranteed to listen to, it’s my mum (most of the time).

Now that Baby Girl’s talking more and more, there’s often a bit of a tussle for attention between the two girls. Frog gets actively annoyed if you compliment her sister but don’t heap praise on her too. From a mum’s point of view this can be draining – I’ve lost count of the number of huge dramatic tears I’ve had to mop up recently because apparently telling one child she’s doing a good job means I automatically “hate” the other one. Still, this photo proves they like each other really.

And just like that, the rain of the morning is lifting and so is my mood. It’s not always easy to be positive is it? Especially when you barely have time to go for a wee let alone practise some meaningful “life is great” meditation. But, sometimes, all it takes is a photo or two to remind us of what’s important. And to get the hell over the mum life meltdown.

Happy Monday everyone.

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: beach days, Devon beaches, Family days out, mum life, real mum life

« Converting carnivore kids with Goodlife
The reality of cooking with kids »

Comments

  1. Laura Redburn says

    March 8, 2017 at 12:25 pm

    Ahh, fresh air and beaches. What else do you really need in life? Always love your writing <3.

    Reply
  2. Alice says

    March 8, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    I love the beach in the winter, too. At any time of year it’s such an awesome reminder that there’s something bigger than us! x

    Reply
  3. Gill Crawshaw says

    March 8, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    Fresh air makes EVERYTHING better! Must be brilliant living so close to the beach x

    Reply
  4. Susie at This Is Me Now says

    March 6, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    Ah Molly you write so well! Happy Monday. xx

    Reply
    • grandma from the north says

      March 7, 2017 at 8:39 pm

      Brrr! Making me feel cold on the outside (great British weather), but warm on the inside…you three!XX

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

Just popping in to bring some sexy realness to you Just popping in to bring some sexy realness to your feed and remind you not to compare your life to an edited highlights reel. Here I am on my swanky holiday in a five star hotel freshly woken after a refreshing eight hours’ sleep in silken sheets wearing my designer nightwear. #LifestyleGoals
It’s important to distinguish between doctors an It’s important to distinguish between doctors and dieticians, and to remember that GPs and doctors are NOT dieticians. People go to university for four years and then often do Masters or PhD’s before they start practising in dietetics. Doctors are great (my sister is one!) but they are not dieticians. Being a doctor does not automatically give you the expertise to give nutrition advice. Remember this if you are referred to Slimming World or Weight Watchers by your GP, or if you watched a certain TV show last night (hosted, btw, by a medical psychiatrist, not a GP - see @drjoshuawolrich post for more on that). 
.
I think it’s concerning when doctors write diet books, particularly when they are well known celeb doctors. Not only does it drive a weight-focused health agenda (side note: doctors! Read Health At Every Size by Lindo Bacon PhD!), but it perpetuates anti-fat bias in the medical community. 
.
And this matters why? Because weight stigma and health are not compatible. Research shows many of the health outcomes blamed on weight can be attributed to the effect of weight stigma rather than the weight itself, but ALSO weight stigma means many people put off going to see a doctor due to past upsetting experiences in the GP surgery OR they are not properly diagnosed because their weight is the focus of the consultation. 
.
Look, I’m not coming for doctors. I appreciate you and know you’ve done an exceptional job in the pandemic. Again, my sister is a doctor. BUT doctors are a product of society just like you and me. They are human with their own internalised biases. It’s important we remember this, particularly if their prescription involves nutrition advice which many dieticians would condemn as being actively bad for health.

#BodyImage
Re-sharing this vid from January to show, despite Re-sharing this vid from January to show, despite what fatphobic attitudes would have you believe, body acceptance does NOT mean “giving up”. It IS possible to enjoy moving your body without weight loss being the ultimate goal. 
.
Diet culture has messed up our relationship with exercise just like it’s messed up our relationship with food. And the government’s Better Health campaign just continues to perpetuate the myth that exercise is a weight loss tool, and that those in bigger bodies can’t be fit. WRONG! 
.
⚡️Did you know research shows people who are fat and fit live longer than those who are thin and unfit? ⚡️Did you know weight stigma and anti-fat attitudes are a massive barrier for many people who want to work out? ⚡️Did you know that exercising for intrinsic reasons (how it makes you feel) over extrinsic ones (how it makes you look) is a better long term motivator for consistent exercise? ⚡️And did you know that a study in 2007 showed people who are motivated to exercise for health and enjoyment reasons had a lower pulse, systolic blood pressure and salivary stress hormone levels while those motivated by weight loss had none of these physical measures? Fitness through a diet culture lens is NOT the one! 
.
If you want kids to enjoy movement then teaching them that all bodies are good bodies is absolutely KEY to a lifelong healthy relationship with exercise. 
.
But also: other people’s bodies and health habits are none of your business! People have the right to respect and dignity REGARDLESS of their health status. 
.
And finally (I’ll put my megaphone down in a sec) ALL movement is valid, despite what the “go hard or go home” crew tell you. It’s YOUR body, move it however you want, however it feels good, and not to “atone” for the “syns” you ate at your last meal ❤️❤️❤️
#BodyHappy #BodyImage
CELEBRATE YOUR BODY ❤️ This book by @sonyarene CELEBRATE YOUR BODY ❤️ This book by @sonyareneetaylor is just the most joyful book to help girls understand and embrace their changing bodies. My eldest is 10 and she read it cover to cover, and it’s sparked so many gorgeous, open, curious conversations about puberty and periods and hormones and emotions and all the things. 
.
@thebodyisnotanapology
.
[ID: Celebrate Your Body book by Sonya Renee Taylor]
Tonight should be our first night on holiday in Sp Tonight should be our first night on holiday in Spain. Made up for it with a meal outside at the village pub and a “late” bedtime (any evening out past 8pm is late for us!). Devon is heaven ❤️ #mumlife
ALL children have the right to feel good about the ALL children have the right to feel good about themselves and their body - not just the ones who “look healthy”. Children are being taught at a younger and younger age that their body is a problem that needs to be fixed. 
.
The current climate of intense body shaming disguised as health concern is creating policies which actively damage the relationship children have with their bodies. There is a huge amount of evidence showing that the better kids feel about their body, the more likely they are to make choices that make their body feel good - like taking part in movement or eating in a happy, intuitive way. 
.
Making health all about weight not only damages kids’ body image, making them either feel like their body is “wrong” or fear it becoming “wrong”, it also gives a free pass to the diet industry to aggressively market their products at children, under the guise of health. Ironically, encouraging kids to engage in dieting and habits which are actively bad for their health. This culture affects ALL children.
. 
And of course this version of health, and this focus on making kids’ bodies the problem, lets the politicians off the hook. Easier to put the nation on a diet instead of investing in policies which will reduce inequality and give everyone access to the things needed to live a full and healthy life.
.
There is a silver lining though, because we can choose to be part of the solution. We can say no to diet culture at home and challenge it when it pops up in the spaces kids should be safest.
.
If you’re a teacher our Body Happy Kids workshop is an intro to this subject with tools for creating body happy spaces for the children in your care. Find out more and sign up via my bio. ❤️ #BodyHappyKids
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2020 · Mothers Always Right. Design by Stacey Corrin

This site uses cookies: Find out more.