Okay. I'll say this one thing about Alligators and then I promise to shut up about my beloved reptiles for the rest of my entry. Deal?

One of the hatchlings fell asleep on me, with it's head on my leg and it's warm little body lying across my hands. It was enchanting. I didn't move for my entire 1/2 hour break because I didn't want to disturb him.

Onto the body question. Yikes! Why is there so much pressure on women to be self-deprecating about our bodies? I don't feel that pressure from any of YOU guys, but it's out there.

Things I don't like about my body:

My thighs are not slim.

My stomach is not flat.

Things I love about my body:

Everything else. Really. I'm not stunningly gorgeous. I would never make it as a supermodel (even if I wasn't only five feet tall). My jeans never fit right because my waist is small but my hips aren't. (How annoying is that? If it fits my hips I've got like 4 inches sagging at the waist, and if it fits my waist, it's too damned tight around my hips! Arrrrrrrgh!)

But, you know what? So what!? My body is the current home to my soul. Everything that I am, a woman, a writer, an animal lover, a daughter, a friend...is all tied up and connected to this body, mind and soul of mine. And I could never hate any part of it.

I sometimes groan and think that I'm Quasimodo just because I'm not a size 2 with huge breasts, but most of the time I don't fall into that self-loathing trap. I hope I can somehow raise my own daughters to love their body for what it can do rather than what it looks like.

G'night. Sweet dreams!