But You Used to be Chubby

The words pierced my heart.

Hi this is Leslie Harris, and I recently saw someone who I’ve known my whole life, but hadn’t seen in several years. We were genuinely glad to see each other, and she complimented me and told me how great I looked.

We were talking and laughing about when we were kids. I remembered a time when I was cold, and one of our dads’ friends gave me a giant wool sweater. It made me look like I had many rolls. She looked at me and said,

“But you were chubby.”

I pretended like the comment didn’t bother me, but the little girl inside of me shriveled up.

The thing is, I know she meant it as a compliment, because I’m no longer that chubby little kid. But it still bothered me. I’m okay now.

So why am I writing this blog? To remind all of us to choose our words more carefully. To remind us not to poke those insecure little kids that are still hiding inside of all of us.