The news: My sister-in-law told me last night she wants to undergo a mini tummy tuck.
The shocker: She is LITERALLY a size 00 and probably a has a BMI of a grape.
My initial reaction: WTH!!!! Why do the skinny want to get skinnier?
But then I wondered why it bothered me so much?? Why should it bother me if she wants to feel better about herself? It wasn't so much about HER or the PROCEDURE that bothered me. And believe me it has nothing to do with jealousy either so I just want to clear that up now. Of course I wish my abs were a little flatter and my bums a little juicier but who doesn't have imperfections? In fact, I'm very satisfied with my post-pregnancy body. Just in two more days my sweetlittledevil LilyAnne (whom I like to refer to Tiger Lily because she was born in the zodiac year of the Tiger like her parents) will be turning 6 months old! And for not seeing the inside of a gym for the last 3 months, I must admit my post-pregnancy body somehow looks better than before my pregnancy. Granted I do the equivalent of 2-3 hours of workout just holding that little sucker all day. Overall, I'm HAPPY about how I look in clothes and my husband agrees!
Let's digress. Now back to the point: Why must one spend $8000 to cut off 1inch of skin? Before I make my case, I'll let my sister-in-law make her point on reasons why she want to go under the knife:
1. "So that my jeans would fit better and I can wear tighter clothes"
2. "I'm not gonna have any more kids"
3. "I'm still young. I don't want to wait until I'm 40 to get it"
4. "It's just a MINI tummy tuck. Not the full"
Any thoughts?
I for one have a few:
(1) I don't have problems with getting procedures to feel younger or wanting to look more beautiful
(2) I have a problem with not knowing what's priority
(3) Family (as in the Husband and Kids) should be first priority. That includes keeping them sheltered (pay that mortgage), feeding them, clothing them, insuring them, saving for college funds, providing medical care, etc.
(4) Second priority would be taking care of yourself. Of course there's the saying that you have to care for yourself before you can care for others. That's a given. But financially-speaking, I believe groceries for the family comes before buying that Gucci handbag.
(5) Third priority is paying off debt. If one's debt is 2/3rds or more of your income, you need to start paying it off fast!
(6) Anything extra after all necessary expenses have been paid is up to your descretion.
But then I thought, wait a minute, I'm not really upset about the finances. Then WTH am I still so bothered by the fact that my skinny sister-in-law wants to be even skinnier?
And then the A-HA! moment kicks in. I finally figured it out. We have differing values on what a "housewife" should look like! No I'm not the housewife that wears pajamas and has my hair in rollers all day. But I'm also not the one doing the dishes in a bandanna minidress. I believe that women should change their style as they get older as well as when life changes force them into more mature roles. Would anyone feel ok seeing their grandma out at the club with a full MAC face and wearing skin tight clothes? No! So why should it be different for someone who's about to turn 30, happily married so has no need to get attention from the opposite sex, has two kids, care so much about looking hot??
Now I just sound bitter. And then another A-HA! moment hits. Maybe she just wants to be happy. Ohmygosh. That was it all along. She just wants to feel secure and satisfied about herself. Why can't you be happy for her??! Dang. I felt like a douchbag for thinking so negatively on someone's insecurities. So then I felt happier for her. She was going to do something about her unhappiness and insecurity that it made me kind of proud of her for wanting to take action.
Did I just go full circle and right back to where I should've been from the start? Yes.
So my final reaction on the tummy tuck: You go girl! Do it! And remember to tell me every detail so I can blog about it =]
