Love EVERY Body #3 - Shoulders, arms & hands

Hello!

Everyone else's Love EVERY Body posts are due TOMORROW 2nd Feb but I'm posting today in case any of you need a last minute bit of guidance.

This month's assignment is to talk about our shoulders, arms and hands.

If you've ever had some kind of injury to an arm or hand which has prevented you from using it for a short time, you'll know for yourself that working arms and hands are a blessing, no matter what they look like. If you have the full use of both arms (and I'm not assuming you do) that's a bonus.

So, what are my arms like? They're fat, freckly, and my left arm is tattooed. They feel squishy and give great hugs. I'm complimented on my hugs a lot, because I give a mini upper back rub at the same time. When I hug someone I let them know they're loved. :) I love being hugged, and can get lost in it. Sometimes when hubby and I are hugging I close my eyes and feel so cosy I could fall asleep standing up. I like that my arms get more freckly in summer. I like that there's muscle underneath the squidge, despite me being mostly sedentary now. My wrists and hands are weak and painful, despite my arms being having strength. I have trouble squeezing things from tubes, opening containers, cutting vegetables and cheese, things like that. It's a pain to ask for things to be opened for me as I'm independent stubborn, but slightly buggered tools are better than no tools at all.

There are loads of things I can do with my hands and arms - do my make up, type this blog, hug people, cook and feed myself, take lots of photos, get dressed, wash myself and a huge amount of other things which although totally commonplace are very appreciated when I stop to think about them. For myself to have a concern about slightly flabby/dangly upper arms seems ungrateful, especially as 'bingo wings' are just ANOTHER sexist creation designed to make women feel shit about themselves. You know what, everyone's arms wobble a bit when they wave, unless they're made of stone. Since when did having a body with some parts that are totally immobile become the thing we crave? Bollocks to that.

This tattoo is a cover up, as you can see

I heal up badly from tattoos with Fibro & need some touch ups

My hands are doing OK for someone of nearly 40 years old, especially someone who washes up without rubber gloves on as sweaty finger hinges revolt me. They're a bit wrinkly and I'm starting to get age spots on the backs of them, but they're tools and it seems petty to complain about them when they do so many good things. I just need to use a hand cream with SPF and they'll be right. I like my nails and enjoy painting them when I have the time. I used to bite them many years ago and am pleased I broke the habit and have nails to paint. Sometimes I get ganglion cysts in my hands, but a few hard bashes with a dense implement like a heavy book make them go down without the intervention of a doctor. I've always been prone to them - I get them in my feet too.

My shoulders are strong, for the most part. I have clicky shoulder joints (and elbows) and have shoulder/upper neck pain a lot especially when I bend forward (Fibromyalgia makes them burn with pain when I lean or bend forward, like to wash my hair over the bath) but for the main part everything is good there too, and my arms would fall off without shoulders to hang on to. ;) When anything hurts I just stop moving it/doing where possible. When it's not possible I suck it up and moan about it afterwards, hahaha.

All in all I'm pretty happy with my arms because I can do so many good things with them. I want to cover them both with more tattoos when money allows (when I stop spending it on dresses) as why not decorate the things you love? We decorate our homes so why not decorate where our souls live?

What's your favourite thing to do with your arms or hands? (Having a very dirty mind makes me ask this with a degree of reticence!)

Thanks for reading!