I love thrifting. LOVE IT! I love going to yard sales, I love going to Good Will. I especially love a Good Will in a very expensive area because guess what? All those wealthy people give their Ah-mazing stuff to the local donation place. Some of my favorite pieces are from such a place, including my Michael Kors leather watch. I always try to find kids clothes, because let me tell you my kids tear up clothes faster than I can buy them. So Score! when I find super expensive clothes for these kiddos for $3. I mean why pay full retail price for items that you can get practically new? That means more money for the essentials in life, like wine. You can't buy that used!
One recent Good Will trip turned up something that honestly has changed a life long issue for me.
Now at any used store place, you have to really keep your eyes open. Things tend to be shoved in random places, and you just never know what you are going to find. So keeping hawk like eyes open is vital. As I patiently waited to check out, I took a glance in the front cases. These cases are where they keep the more expensive smaller items. Most of the time when I browse this case, I think to myself, why is this crap in the 'expensive" case? But I always look just in case. And as I stood there, I saw a silver antique hand mirror that had the most beautiful carvings. Now maybe it is because my husband and I have been watching American Pickers, that show where those two men buy old stuff and resell it, but this mirror caught my eye.
I stared at it, and stared at it as the line inched forward to check out.
I heard in my heart, buy the mirror. I arugued with myself. I heard again, buy the mirror.
It was a couple bucks, so I'm like "Fine Ill buy the mirror!"
The mirror is a gorgeous, heavy older hand mirror in perfect condition. I brought it home, and thought "why did I buy this?" It sat on my bathroom counter for weeks. I mean, it's so heavy that I really the only way to have it out is to lay it flat. So every day I as I got ready, I saw the mirror laying there. I never once picked it up.
Sometimes my mind wanders and I begin attacking my body in my head. For someone that once weighed 100 pounds more than I do right now, the damage my body has gone through is evident. Stretched out skin, stretch marks, and cellulite cover my body. Even wearing a size 4-8 pant doesn't help my mental state on days where I am giving in to the negative body image thoughts. Sometimes it's so bad that I completely hate myself for looking the way I do. This is not the place I want to live or stay for even one minute. God has really shown me just how impacting my thoughts are on my life. Good and bad. And this year I have really taken ownership of my thoughts and what I am telling myself. The minute I realize just what I am thinking, I start thinking and saying positive words about myself and my battle scarred body. I am grateful for all my body does for me each and every day.
But I digress...so this hand mirror has been sitting on my bath room counter untouched. But just the other day (since I don't own a full length mirror) I wanted to see how my back side looked in a pair of jeans. I stood on my garden tub side and grabbed that mirror, turned around and about fell off the tub! OMG, my butt looks amazing! Wait, what? When did that happen? All this time I have been hating on my larger backside and it actually looks like this? I just couldn't believe it! This was literally a major juming up and down moment for me. It's as if this magic mirror helped me to accept myself a little more. So anytime I am cursing under my breath over my weight and size I grab my little Magic Mirror and appreciate all that my body has been through and will continue to go through and admire my volumptious romp. I was made to have curves and this little mirror has helped me embrace them.
Note to yourself the next time you are in a thrift store....buy the hand mirror and go love yourself. The end.
XO
Charley
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