Who told you?

With the weather improving here in Michigan I took ventured out my front door for some serious vitamin D and to..well pick up where I left off back in....gasp... June. You read that correctly. I haven't really walked since June.

A little history.
Body image.
As much as I loved my mom she did not create a healthy body image for myself or my sister. Image was everything. I recall her telling me how when I was very little she would clean the house, prepare a dinner, bathe me and have me dressed nicely before my dad came home from work.
Looking back on my teenage years I can see I was not over weight. I wasn't model thin. I have hips, they are hard to hide. Mom would often make comments about my weight yet keep Snicker bars in the freezer. At one point after college I started cycling and lost about 20 lbs. My moms response..."well you need to work more on your saddle bags." Knife....not to the saddle bag either.
Now back to this week.
Here I am 25 years later. Finding what is beautiful about me.Working on losing 60 lbs of baby fat (from a baby who will be 21 years old this fall) and additional 30 lbs from an unhappy marriage and stress.
While I was going through the divorce walking became my friend. I lost nearly 35 lbs that spring. Then....I have no excuse. Lazy.
As the sun was shining and the air still had a little chill I started my 2.25 mile trek. It felt good to get moving again. I could feel those crazy little endorphins going to work. What had I been thinking? Why had I stopped? I felt strong. I felt beautiful. I felt confident.
Here I am. 47 years old and finally realizing that it is me who has to be my first line of defense. It is not a number but a feeling of being comfortable in my body. My beauty comes from inside.
Back to my earlier question. Who told you? Who told you that you are beautiful?