![\"07\"](\"http:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/07.jpg\")
\nMy biggest fear growing up was that someday I would have Grandma\u2019s chest. You may be questioning this statement and picturing some hideous wooden box, however, I am not talking about a Hope Chest or anything of the sort, but the chest she carried beneath her chin and above her waist. Grandma was stacked! Her hugs sometimes made me feel like I was being swallowed. But unlike me, she never seemed to feel uncomfortable about it.<\/p>\n
Grandma knew how to get attention. She worked as a singer in nightclubs and had a wardrobe of flashy clothes that showed off her attributes. As a young girl, I was shy and embarrassed, but also somewhat awed by such displays. Now I appreciate the value of having assets and being comfortable with them.<\/p>\n
Her bras fascinated me, in a strange sort of way. They were indeed \u201cboulder holders.\u201d I wondered how she stayed upright and didn\u2019t topple over. Walking through crowds had to be a challenge as well. There was no way to avoid noticing her breasts. I secretly thought that they helped her float in the pool.<\/p>\n
As I matured, I happily settled in with a comfortable 36B, which was in proportion with my 5\u20198\u201d medium -build frame. I had no complaints and though I got my share of attention, did not have the problem some of my friends did, that their bosom was expected to carry on a conversation with men.<\/p>\n
When I had kids, though, things exploded. I made the choice to nurse my children and soon discovered how large bras could get. I was surprised to observe that my bras were large enough to possibly be used to haul home some of my purchases from the produce section. (I did not try this, for obvious reasons.) I wondered if it was permanent and how long my back could support the additional demands placed on it. I wondered if the young me was right and they could be used as flotation devices. I never got to find out because I couldn\u2019t find a bathing suit that fit right.<\/p>\n
I was shocked. How could this have happened? No one told me that they could triple in size! I was going to need an entire new wardrobe. All those cute tops I had were history. Luckily, the demands of caring for children gave me more pressing things to worry about and I was able to push my boob woes to the back of my mind. I resorted to wearing (very) oversize shirts (mostly from the men\u2019s department) since I was completely unwilling to buy any maternity clothes after the baby was here.<\/p>\n
Sleeping became a challenge. Any way I tried to position myself was uncomfortable. Laying on my stomach was out of the question and any other position pushed my arms out to uncomfortable angles. I managed to find come positives though. I convinced myself that my waist had shrunk, since I couldn\u2019t see it at all anymore. I also found that at any event with a buffet, I had a built-in shelf for my plate.<\/p>\n
My babies grew up and my chest subsided, to a point. Surprisingly, I found that I was happy to not go back to my pre-pregnancy size. I had gotten used to the new look, and although I was not unhappy with the old me, I like the end result.<\/p>\n
Despite my acceptance of Grandma\u2019s gift, there are downfalls. All the prettiest things: dresses, shoes, even bras, are designed for tiny people. Finding something pretty in a larger size is a challenge. Designers seem to forget that if you have more on top, you need to have more fabric at the bottom. Shirts and dresses alike are frequently too short for my comfort. Button down shirts that fit right everywhere else gape open several buttons down. Then there is the oft cited lack of attention when speaking to people, particularly men. I do sometimes have the temptation to reach out and lift a chin even so slightly in order to make eye contact.<\/p>\n
The chest I possess would not have looked right on the 18-year-old me, but today, the curves suit me. Once it became reality, I came to terms with my fear. After all, short of surgery, what choice do I have? Besides, Grandma was the best; I am happy to be compared to her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My biggest fear growing up was that someday I would have Grandma\u2019s chest. You may be questioning this statement and picturing some hideous wooden box, however, I am not talking about a Hope Chest or anything of the sort, but the chest she carried beneath her chin and above her waist. Grandma was stacked! Her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[60,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-midlife"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7mJoQ-F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":209,"url":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/taking-place-family-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":0},"title":"Cleaning in the Buff? 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I come from a long line of strong women, and most of them, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "midlife"","block_context":{"text":"midlife","link":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/category\/midlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0003","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/IMG_0003-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21,"url":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/%ef%bb%bfa-reluctant-feminist\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":1},"title":"\ufeffA Reluctant Feminist","author":"Kimberly Yavorski","date":"February 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I have an uncomfortable relationship with feminism. It has sort of grown up with me. As a young girl, I saw women taking the stage, speaking forcefully, making themselves heard and refusing to sit down. While this is in part admirable, I found their demeanor often offensive. 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Last week the big story was the child who ended up in a gorilla enclosure at a zoo. People were quick to blame: the mom and the zoo were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "feminism"","block_context":{"text":"feminism","link":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/category\/feminism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"100_7698","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/06\/100_7698-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":412,"url":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/dread-palm-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":3},"title":"Why I Dread Palm Sunday","author":"Kimberly Yavorski","date":"March 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As a child, I looked forward to Palm Sunday. After all, Palm Sunday Mass features a giveaway and the Gospel includes major audience participation. Sure the Mass was longer than most, and there was more standing\/sitting\/kneeling than most Sundays, but it was different, and like I said, you went home\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "politics"","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":122,"url":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/old-people-fun\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":4},"title":"Old People Have All the Fun","author":"Kimberly Yavorski","date":"May 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently went to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. At one point in the movie, Yiayia is dancing in the street, dressed rather oddly.\u00a0 This made me laugh, perhaps more than it should have and I leaned over to my daughter to warn her, \u201cThat will be me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "midlife"","block_context":{"text":"midlife","link":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/category\/midlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"smile-1031894_1280","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/05\/smile-1031894_1280-e1463016458309-149x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":221,"url":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/inandout\/year-feel-horror\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":5},"title":"Each Year I Feel the Horror","author":"Kimberly Yavorski","date":"September 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I awoke this morning and decided to turn on the television, to try to catch up on current events. 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