Remember This About Your Summer Body

Plus, discussing the power of shared values, executive assistants, and mandatory vacation with World of Good Brands CEO Lindsey Abramo.

Included in this week’s In Kind on Monday:

• A reminder to appreciate what your body has done for you

• Hannah’s summer uniform, manifested

• Long-hair-proof hair clips

• Inspiring CEO-level thoughts on the trust necessary for remote work and why vacation is a mandatory xLeah + Hannah

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Summer Bodies

Words by Leah Melby Clinton

Summer is the season when bodies are more on display. We’ve known it since we were old enough to attach worry and pressure to how we show up, physically, in the world. It’s the sleeveless tops and shorter hemlines and sandals; the lighter fabrics that cling and grab; the heat that repels layers that add a protective shell in cooler months.

Summer forces you to show yourself.

My late teenage years and early twenties had the most self-scrutiny. I have no hard-and-fast recollection of a before and after, only that at some being tanned and smooth-shaven became of the utmost importance. I don’t think I could have conceived of a world where I’d step out without having prepped (which could be an especially cruel catch-22—I can still remember shaving too close to beach-time, then wincing and watching angry red marks appear on my naked legs).

Looking back, I don’t remember actually thinking about or paying that much attention to anyone else’s body. I wasn’t closely studying others’ legs or arms. Too much of my attention was directed at the person in the mirror; there was none left over for someone else.

And then, gradually, things shifted.

As you age, you begin to care less (about most things). You see how little others are looking at you. Life is thrown at you in painful, perspective-altering ways where you understand that to be healthy and mobile is a gift.

Who can ever worry again about whether their legs are perfectly smooth when they’ve seen how quickly sickness can sneak in and steal things from you?