[Soft*Silver]

this use to be one of my favorite threads! I am glad it was bumped today!

I had to close my plus sized clothing store because I simply could not do it any longer. It was physically taxing, especially after all those surgeries I had (2 stumach, 2 eye, 2 shoulder). I really miss it, especially the women. I miss hearing all their stories and having so many strong women around me daily! I love my job now, but I am a children's therapist. I dont get a chance to work with adults often but when I do, weight issues always comes up if its a woman...

I am a bit overweight, but not as much as I use to be. Having a horse for a couple years really helped build my muscles and take off some weight. I started a FB group for plus size horse riders...its really tough to handle the criticism we get for being overweight. My horse was part draft horse and was built to carry me, but people can be very hurtful regardless. When I gave up my horse tho, I gave her up because of my health problems, not because of the naysayers about my weight.

I was talking to a friend the other day, and she was complaining she had gained SO much weight (like only 20 lbs!) and wanted to lose weight to be a role model for her grand daughter. We were at lunch and I almost choked on my food. Really??? You want to role model that skinny is the only way a woman should look? Rather than attack that premise, I simply said that for my grand daughter, I wanted to be the kind of grand mother I once had...my grand mother had full hips that I could climb up on and a soft belly I could feel warmed by, and large arms that when they embraced me, it felt like the safest place in the world. I wanted to be large against her small and let her feel the the soft warmth of loving flesh. After all, we girls learn how to love our own selves by the laps we crawl up on...

I stunned my friend. She ordered dessert....