I'm sorry I didn't appreciate you

My dad made me run in high school, track and cross-country. I hated running but it gave me very nicely shaped legs. As a teenager, I never wore a skirt longer than mid-thigh and I didn't wear pants until college. In a bikini, however, I was always self-conscious about my strong frame, thick muscular waist, and round butt. The women in the magazines had long thin limbs, small soft waists and smooth flat bottoms with just a hint of a crease at the leg. I used to describe myself as a white girl with black girl's butt. Or bubble butt. I tried to hide it (years before J-Lo made it famous).

When I left home, I stopped running and didn't run for years and years. I did yoga, took boxing, swam and rode the bicycle. Without the heavy training, I was thinner. A few years ago, I gained a tiny bit of weight at my waist and finally, after all these years, had a soft feminine tummy (is that the weirdest word ever?) But then something funny happened. My butt started to lose its muscular quality and literally began disappearing. I'd since learned that those models were airbrushed teenagers and at 35, I'd finally had come to appreciate my bubble butt! Alas, it was too late. My ass was disappearing and now I wanted it back.

I started running again, about six months ago. Every time I head out, I feel like I'm chasing my ass, into the past, trying to catch it. Wait, don't go! I'm sorry! I think y'all know the moral of this story. Whatever you've got, appreciate it before it's gone.