Our Rural Roots
Strength in the New Year
As we gear up for the New Year, the talk of resolutions is in the air. For many people, this includes a goal related to losing weight. As someone who has worried about my weight my whole life, I understand. I would be embarrassed to admit the amount of energy I have put into this particular obsession. I can think back and remember specific instances where adults made comments related to their own weight or the weight of another person, and I believe that is where my own issues likely arose.
Since having a daughter eight years ago, I've really been cognizant of what I've said related to weight. I am careful not to comment on my weight or dieting in front of her. I've told other people not to comment on weight in front of her. I am careful to talk about how we want to be healthy and strong versus thin. I've really wondered if this effort has been fruitful, or if I've been wasting my time and energy.
One day this fall, my daughter went to cheerleading camp. She was most excited about the stunting, where girls work together to lift the "flier" into the air. When I picked her up from camp, she started her first sentence with, "Mom, I'm at the bottom of the stunt ... "
I cringed about what might be coming next. Would she be upset? Would she be concerned she was not the smallest girl being lifted into the air? Did someone say something negative to her?
She continued, " ... because I am the strongest. That is probably from showing sheep and cattle, and helping haul hay and carry feedbags."
I got tears in my eyes realizing how she saw herself: strong, tough, powerful. It was a great reminder that how we talk about ourselves and others matters. Here's to the strong girls we are being and raising in 2025.
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Tiffany Dowell Lashmet juggles family, farming, writing, livestock and a career in ag law from the Texas Panhandle. Follow her blog at https://alwaysafarmkid.com/…, on Instagram alwaysafarmkid and on X @TiffDowell
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