Bottoms up...

I have been working at a German bar/restaurant for almost a year now and today marks my first day as bartender. I will be tending bar a few days a week and I'm thrilled! This economy has really shaken all the beliefs and expectations I had for myself. No, I'm not an account executive at a company neither am I in Law School or married with child. I am just a 26-year old bartender/waitress. While that thought would have probably given me chills 5 years ago, I couldn't be happier. Life is too short to be doing something I don't enjoy. This job gives me the flexibility to do so much when I'm not working. I can take sewing classes, be in a band with my friends and hang out with my boyfriend regularly. Maybe in a few years, when the economy is on the up and up, I'll start feeling the pressure to work at some corporate office, for now, I'm perfectly content with uttering the words, "Can I get you another drink?"

{beer photo source, cocktail photo source}

Out of the mouths of babes...

This past Saturday I had the chance to baby-sit two beautiful little girls as a favor for a friend. They introduced me to shows and movies that-well let me just say, I would only watch again if a gun was pointed to my head (High School Musical, anyone?). At one point during the day, the youngest child, Ava who is 3 years old looked up at me and said "Dennise, you have fat legs". I was taken aback at first because she is so little but then I laughed it off and went on with whatever was going on.

When I got home that night, I recalled the statement and how I truly felt about it. I have always had a problem with my thighs; my legs are short and thick and my thighs especially seem to look thicker due to my height deficiency. In high school I don't think I ever donned a pair of shorts or a swimsuit because I was so self conscious about what people would think about my showing off my legs. Now that I'm 24 and on my own, I've realized that I've come a long way and become much more confident about my body. I will never be thin, I have come to terms with that and I'm ok with it. I realize that if I had been told by a child that I had "fat legs" 5 years ago I would have probably cried for a week and not brushed it off like I did Saturday.

Beautiful little Ava unfortunately still has to go through body self-awareness issues and I feel for her because by the time she gets to high school, I fear the world will be much more brutal than when I was that age.

I may not make much money or live in a beautiful house but I can look at myself in the mirror and be content with what I have and wear shorts and be comfortable. That to me, is priceless. I'm so glad, little Ava helped me see that.

(photo via ReyGuy on flickr)