Mom, you're not fat...
I’m 5’4 ½” and I used to weigh 195 lbs. I went clothes shopping with my daughters one day.
Me, depressed, looking at myself in mirror while trying on clothes: “I’m so fat.”
Liz: “You’re not fat.”
Laura echoes: “Mom, you’re not fat.”
Less depressed now. Isn’t it great, being seen through your children’s loving eyes!
Me: “I feel fat.”
Liz: “Mom, you’re not fat, you’re just obese.”
Uh oh.
Me: “And that’s supposed to make me feel better how?”
Liz: “You know. You’re not that fat.”
Me: Non verbal communication here. I think I non-verbally said, "WTF".
Liz: “I went shopping with Ex-boyfriend, and he always said the same thing. He said that he was fat and I told him, ‘Oh, Ex-boyfriend, you’re not fat, you’re just obese.’ What’s wrong with that?”
Me: “Liz, do you know what ‘obese’ means?
Liz: “Well, duh, it means a little overweight.”
Me: On the one hand, I just wanted to stop right there because at 195 lbs, well it should be obvious why I wanted to stop, but on the other hand, I felt that I had a parental obligation to lift the veil of ignorance from my daughter’s eyes. “Liz, obese means really, really fat.”
Liz: “Oh"…. sigh …. another sigh …."Do you think that’s why he broke up with me?"
Me: “No, honey, not possible. Could you hand me that other tent, excuse me, dress to try on?”
Liz and Laura together, exasperatedly, in two part harmony: “Mom, you’re not fat.”
Me: “Right, just obese.” ...Sigh.
Me, depressed, looking at myself in mirror while trying on clothes: “I’m so fat.”
Liz: “You’re not fat.”
Laura echoes: “Mom, you’re not fat.”
Less depressed now. Isn’t it great, being seen through your children’s loving eyes!
Me: “I feel fat.”
Liz: “Mom, you’re not fat, you’re just obese.”
Uh oh.
Me: “And that’s supposed to make me feel better how?”
Liz: “You know. You’re not that fat.”
Me: Non verbal communication here. I think I non-verbally said, "WTF".
Liz: “I went shopping with Ex-boyfriend, and he always said the same thing. He said that he was fat and I told him, ‘Oh, Ex-boyfriend, you’re not fat, you’re just obese.’ What’s wrong with that?”
Me: “Liz, do you know what ‘obese’ means?
Liz: “Well, duh, it means a little overweight.”
Me: On the one hand, I just wanted to stop right there because at 195 lbs, well it should be obvious why I wanted to stop, but on the other hand, I felt that I had a parental obligation to lift the veil of ignorance from my daughter’s eyes. “Liz, obese means really, really fat.”
Liz: “Oh"…. sigh …. another sigh …."Do you think that’s why he broke up with me?"
Me: “No, honey, not possible. Could you hand me that other tent, excuse me, dress to try on?”
Liz and Laura together, exasperatedly, in two part harmony: “Mom, you’re not fat.”
Me: “Right, just obese.” ...Sigh.
posted by molly at
9:00 AM
3 Comments:
Obese is such a big, ugly word! Your children made it into a nice word ---bless their hearts. The old standard for overweight was 10% over the insurance standards and obesity was 20% over. I have grown a couple of inches since I got married, but need to grow a bunch more to fit my weight now! Let's see 5'4" x 5# per inch = 120. Over weight =132 and obese =144! Sure!---That's why the Health Channel makes all those shows about 144 pound women--- Sheesh!
By
Kacey, at 6:56 PM
LOL! That's so funny! It's a good thing you set them straight. That long pause was probably your daughter thinking back to every possible person she might have used that word with, lol.
By
BlondeBlogger, at 2:33 PM
LOL!!! This is a great post. Good sense of humour! Great story
By
ljk, at 6:55 PM
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