what we'll remember

I learned so much about our society by visiting an Alzheimer's ward.
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I was there to love on and chat with patient on a Friday morning, wearing white flower leggings, trying to bring some sunshine into the dreary day.
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And another patient approached us, commenting that she loved my leggings. I was thrilled. I was hoping my flower leggings would attract some friends there that day. But then something came out of her mouth that broke my heart. "If I could just lose 10 pounds, I'd buy myself a pair of those pants."
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Excuse me, what? This woman didn't know her own name. She couldn't remember her spouse or her children. She had lost her identity in so many ways, but she remembered that she needed to lose weight in order to do what she wanted!? I was floored. Not to mention this woman was a rail. Her disease was claiming her body as well as her memory, and she did not look healthy.
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I urge you, don't let dieting- don't let the hate we've been taught to have for our bodies- don't let that be the only thing you remember.
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Life is so much more than focusing on how small we can make ourselves. It's so much more than counting calories, points and macros. We are worth so much more. Don't let society tell you that you can't do it until you lose ten pounds. Know you can do it- whatever it is- today.
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Let's take back our power and make our lives about laughing, about being ourselves, about loving the people around us, about spreading joy. So that, in case we forget everything else, we'll remember that we're more than our bodies. We'll remember that we lived.