Of whales and mermatrons

This post came across my Facebook transom a few years ago. I share it in its entirety, minus the nude photo of a plus-size woman that accompanied it:


A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on CDs. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

As with many things, I don't see it as being "either-or." I see it as "both-and," and beyond. Let me explain.

About the time the Aquatic Center became my home away from home, I began to think of myself as a mermatron -- too old and too married to be a mermaid, but like a mermaid, both a mammal and a fish, at home and at peace in the water. I liked the idea, still do, of hanging on to my humanity while dwelling where fish dwell. Yeah, I know it's a myth. But rather than feeling as though a mermatron has a "split" personality, I saw this identity as being a beautifully integrated amalgam. 

Besides, who says all mer-persons are thin? 

Now, there's a lot to love about whales, too -- and manatees, and dolphins, and porpoises, and walruses and a host of other mammals who live predominantly in the water. 

And there's nothing wrong with being big if you're meant to be big -- if your size and your blubber are vital to your survival. 

People, healthy people, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. 

I'm happy with the shape and size I've attained by dropping 130 pounds of blubber. But "thin" is not a synonym for "health," nor can anyone, even a physician, tell if a person is healthy or physically fit just by taking one look at how she looks in a swimsuit, or the number on the scale. 

Living large -- or medium, or petite -- starts with loving yourself and being happy with who you are.

This is what a mermatron looks like.