My apologies to my mother

Sometimes I forget this is the Internet and yes my mom is reading my blog. As mentioned by my friend Stephanie, in a comment to the post below...without realizing it, I made my mom feel bad. I could edit the post, but I would rather clarify because it's something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Where and when do we develop our self image? What is the difference between self-esteem and self-confidence? How do we accept and love the bodies God has blessed us with? We are taught our bodies are a temple. When we don't exercise our bodies, deprive them of sleep, over stress them, neglect to give them fresh nutrient rich foods, and fuel them with fried foods and processed sugars, is that treating them like a temple? As for self-esteem and self-confidence, I believe they are completely different things. Self-esteem to me is not about my 'self' at all. It's about my understanding and acceptance that I am a daughter of God. I believe this begins in primary and is an evolving process. Self-confidence for me, comes from the ability to reach a goal, or complete a task and it certainly helps to have your family and friends on the sidelines cheering you on. I would define my self -image as a blend of these two. I have been very blessed to have been surrounded by a loving family and good friends that I know believe in me. The one in this area that gets the most credit would be my mom. She has always been my biggest cheerleader. She has always lavished me in her love and praise. My mom has always sacrificed her personal wants and needs for the success of her children. From very early dance recitals, to speech and debate tournaments, or whatever the situation was, in my mom's eyes I always new I was the best. Second place would have to go to my sister. I remember one specific time I was sobbing on my way to Primary Children's Hospital. Remy was sick...REALLY sick, and possibly not going to make it. I was crying that I just couldn't take anymore. My sister helped me reach into that almost empty well of confidence to get through it. Come to think of it, I think we've had that conversation several times. As for my physical body and how I view it. I thank God for it everyday. I have been given a great body. It is a strong, good body. There are things I absolutely love (I've got great lips for putting on lip-stick) and things I need to work on. With the gift of a body also came the choice and accountability as to how I treat that body, what I feed it, and how much exercise and sleep it gets. I want to do a better job in this area. I haven't gotten it all figured out yet, luckily it's a journey that daily I try to enjoy. Thanks for the comments! Love Mel