Gum on My Shoe

TW: Mention of food and eating disorders

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate. — Linda Grayson This blog post was inspired by a recent conversation with my friend Sophie who offered me the first chocolate from the tube she’d just bought herself. “Would you like a Munchie?” “It’s not quite your last Rolo but thank you!” For anyone too young to recognise the reference, I was thinking of a long-running and much-loved TV advertising campaign from the eighties with the tagline “Do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?” The original animated adverts were followed by live action ads demonstrating the unfortunate consequences of keeping Rolos to yourself. My favourites feature this couple on a train and the elephant’s revenge . I told Sophie how I once bought a tube of Rolos with the sole purpose of sending the last one to a dear friend. I made a little gift box for it and everything. It was a fun exchange and I walked away grateful for the memories as well as the Mun...

When you go home, do you look around and wonder, “Who are these people, where did I even come from?” I mean, you look at them all, sitting there, you know... they look familiar, but who the hell are they? — Claudia, Home for the Holidays A few weeks ago I mentioned to Fran that I needed to find something to write about. Without hesitation, she suggested I write about what Thanksgiving means to me. I said I couldn’t really do that as I’m not an American, but I could imagine I’d feel somewhat the way I do celebrating Christmas as an atheist. That is, conflicted. Fran paused, smiling. I realised what she’d done. She’d led me into discovering an angle to explore. I reminded her she’d done the same twelve years ago when she suggested I write a book about being friends with someone with mental illness. Both ideas were too good for me to dismiss! Hopefully, I joked, the blog post wouldn’t take as long to write as our book had. Christmas is a religious celebration of Christ’s birth, y...

By Charlotte Underwood This is my body. What I see: Scars Fat Imperfections What I feel: Fear Vulnerability Disgust What I know: A body that’s kept me alive for 23 years A body winning against binge eating A body that is mine and no one else’s A strong ass woman The thing with body positivity and body image is that it’s hard work. Most people can’t stare at a mirror and force themselves to love what they see. Many people have a love/hate relationship with their body. But over time, we can learn to be proud of our bodies and our skin. When I was a teenager, I literally stopped eating properly and I worked out a lot because I felt like I was being judged for my weight. I felt I wouldn’t be loved as a larger girl. And you know what? I wish I never had to feel like that. I am learning to look after my body and my mind for myself. I do not let anyone tell me that I should lose a few pounds or sort out my appearance, because it’s not their right. Your bod...

By Jen Evans My friend Marty wrote down some things he’d quite like to do this year and I liked his idea so much that I thought I’d do the same. I’ve never been one for resolutions. They always seemed too resolute and never last because I think I literally expected too much of myself. But cultivating and harvesting ... a slow, gradual harvest over the year, that seems reasonable. When I think of cultivating, I think of habits that take time to build and maintain, and have to be worked on each day, or a set amount of time each week, in order for them to harvest. Here is what I’d like to cultivate and harvest this season. 1. Three times a week, I would like to write down in a journal all the things I am grateful for during that week. 2. Meditate twice a week and log it or write about the experience. 3. Cultivate a healthier me. To me this looks like a girl who makes healthier choices around food and who likes the way she looks in a mirror. I’d like to get down to 200 lbs. An...

      When I am happy I make soup When I am down I make soup When there’s drama I make soup When there’s peace I make soup Then, I have to give.   Fran