"I Look Terrible in that Picture"

Over the past few days, I've listened to women complain about (among other things): fat thighs, bathing suits, big bellies, saggy breasts, double chins, triple chins, quadruple chins...

And the phrase heard 'round the world: "I look terrible in that picture."

Why do women do this?  You'll never hear a man (or not a straight one, anyway) say, "Look how jiggly my arms look in that shirt." For the love, ladies, we aren't perfect creatures, and we certainly don't look like airbrushed supermodels when posing for snapshots. News flash: we're not supposed to!

Last week I had the chance to visit three of my very best friends. We're spread out across three states, but somehow managed to meet and make a day of it. We took pictures like crazy: at lunch at El Girasol, in front of a gym downtown, and leaning over a fence after feeding horses. We didn't set up a glamour shot session -- we captured the moment, lots of moments, of the wonderful day when we all played hooky and managed a last-minute "play date."

We all snap pictures to capture a moment -- a memory. A grandmother with her great-grandchild; a sister's birthday; a mother with her 3-year-old daughter.

Yes, I'm guilty of it, too. But lately I'm more and more aware of the impression I'm making on my daughter. Right now she loves being in front of the camera -- with a follow-up, "Let me see! Let me see!" squeal after each shot. But every time she hears me or another woman complain about cankles or a belly pooch, she marches one day closer to the moment she, too, says:

"Yuck, I look terrible."

So last week I kept her in mind while we snapped those pictures, all 200 of them. And instead of focusing on whether or not I'd sucked in my gut, I looked to see if my level of happiness (which was off the charts) was reflected back at the camera. It was.

And guess what? I'm satisfied with every single one.

We are constantly bombarded about body image and the effects of the media on our self-esteem, so much so that it's become white noise. But it's never too late to start appreciating ourselves, especially in the meaningful moments we are lucky to capture.

So the next time there's a picture in front of you, for the love of all things pixelated, please think before you look at yourself and mutter the words, "Ugh."

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