Yes, I Painted My Sons Nails. What’s Your Point?
This morning the girls found my nail polish bin. Amelié, my niece, picked out a hot pink and gave it to me. I sat her on the floor and began painting her nails. Marjorie followed suit with a bright yellow colored polish. Manning came in and asked what we were doing. I told him we […]
To My Darling Daughter, Rock the Bikini & Forget the Rest
To my darling baby girl, Today, I watched you splash and play in your new bikini. You were so thrilled to be in the water and never thought twice about your body or bathing suit. I said a silent prayer today that you will always have that joy and twinkle in your eye. I pray […]
Dancing Through the Dark
I haven’t been sleeping much lately. A combination of moving stress and the time of year. The dreaded day is quickly approaching and my Facebook Time Hop has been a daily reminder. It is hard to believe that this Saturday, May 27, will mark two years since our Marjorie was diagnosed with cancer. Two years. […]
Pardon Me While I Feed My Kids Kale and Chemicals
Last night, I posted a picture of my children enjoying ice cream sandwiches following dinner with a caption that said: “Years ago, I would spend nearly an hour in the grocery store’s ice cream section. Opening and closing every glass door, pulling every carton out and quickly putting it back in. My mind raced as […]
Dear Anti-Diet Community, Be NICE!
To my dearest anti-diet community, I get it. I totally get that every diet post, cleanse, and celebrity detox makes your skin crawl. I. GET. IT. I’m on your team, but I am not behind the shame storm that happens when someone decides to go on a diet or change their eating habits. Recently, I awoke […]
Dearest Lorelei, Forget the World and Find Your Tribe
Lorelei splashed in the tub as I gently washed the shampoo from her curly hair. She is the first born of one of my dearest and oldest friends, Katherine. I spent the week with them during my Chattanooga speaking tour. “My curls are tiny!” Five-year old Lorelei exclaimed. “Some people have bigger curls and some people […]
Feeling Fat on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day. And I feel fat. Gasp. How could McCall Manning Dempsey, a positive body image speaker, feel fat? Oh the horror! Well, folks. We all have our days. But here is the difference. I know that fat isn’t a feeling and that when I start thinking and having anxiety about my […]
Leaping Once Again
My current state of mind is similar to that of six years ago when I leaping from treatment back out into the ‘real’ world… Journal entry (2.23.2016) “I am feeling lots of things. I am worried about work. I am kind of angry. I want to cry. I want to fall apart. I want to […]
An Open Letter to Lady Gaga’s Belly Roll
Dearest Lady Gaga’s Belly Roll, You are causing quite the stir in the social media stratosphere after Sunday’s spectacular Super Bowl Performance. But, if I’m being honest here, I didn’t notice you. I’m so sorry. I completely overlooked your big debut because I was entranced by the performance. To my shock and dismay, Monday’s news […]
Ten Years Later: Love & Laughter Reign
For the last ten years, February 2nd has been a bittersweet day for me. While I wish our wedding day, conjured feelings of love and joy, my heart pulls the opposite way. My day was lost stolen by my eating disorder. This is a notion not many can understand or relate to, even my own […]