Peach Friedman
author, educator & trainer
intuitive fitness for women

I have a Nike swoosh on my belly. It hurts. Let me explain…

I’m growing. In fact, I’m big enough to get comments from strangers (at the grocery store, “Oh, look at your cute belly! When are you due?”), and I’m also knocking into all sorts of things (doors, counter tops, even walls!) because I’m not yet accustomed to my size.

I was teaching a group today, doing some body awareness exercises, and I had the realization that I’ve not yet fully embodied my new pregnant size: I don’t look in the mirror all that often, and I’m so unaware of how much I’ve grown that I don’t open the door wide enough to fit comfortably through, or allow enough space between my body and the sink when I’m washing up at night. I even burned myself the other day! Hence, the Nike swoosh.

My husband was on a rafting trip with friends, and I was at home alone, hot, hungry, and in a hurry. Hot enough that I had pulled my strapless dress down around my hips so that it was a skirt, and my belly was bare. Hungry enough that I was baking frozen breaded chicken tenders from Trader Joe’s that I’d pulled out the freezer, and in such a hurry that I pulled the baking tray out quickly, completely unaware of where my body ended and the air began, and, yep, seared a big Nike swoosh shaped burn right under my belly button. It’s amazingly centered!

I spent the next hour with a frozen bag of peas on my belly, and the hour after that with a frozen stick of butter in its place. Then I unwrapped the butter, smeared it over my burning hot Nike swoosh, and fell asleep.

I’m realizing now, five days later, as the burn has turned into a bright red looking thing, that it will likely scar. So I’m reminding myself this week of the fact that I might want to practice what I teach: body awareness. My shape continues to evolve as it never has before, and I have a lot of catching up to do!