This holiday season, I had the absolute pleasure of being home in upstate NY with my family. I especially cherished the time in the kitchen with my Mom. It reminded me of THIS article, which is one I’d like to live by if I ever have a daughter, and also reminds me of the ways I can mother myself.

Some of my favorite bits from the article are...

“Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes.”

“Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move their furniture.

Teach your daughter how to cook kale.

Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.

Pass on your own mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.”

“Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world if she wants.”

My mom taught me so many of these lessons, just from being herself and loving the huge variety of experiences she’s had. These lessons inspire me to think a little less about whether an exercise or food is good or bad and more about what it will add to my life. I surprised myself this year by placing health at the bottom of my priority list. To me, this doesn’t mean I’m not going to eat well or move my body or think about what ingredients I’m using while I’m cooking. Instead, it encourages me to think about health a little differently. What if it became about pleasure and what it can add to my life? What if I ate well because I want to move my body that day and it’s going to keep me feeling my best, or because I have to do something really scary and it will give me the fuel I need to feel supported? After a history of eating disorders and food obsession, the ability to eat what I want because of how much it can nourish me is a very different perspective. I know I won’t be able to do the things I love without my health, but this year I’m going to think about it a little differently.