Why this mom is wearing a dress she has 'no business wearing'

Katey Johnson recently posted a photo of her wearing a form-fitting little black dress that she purchased to wear on a trip with her husband. Although the mother of two, who stands at 5’2″ and weighs a healthy 160 lbs. suggests the dress may not be “flattering” — she bought it anyway because she feels fantastic wearing it.

“This is me in a dress I have no business wearing. It’s not the first time I’ve worn it and it won’t be the last time,” the Mother Octopus blogger wrote in a Facebook post. “I know it’s not flattering but I don’t want you to say, ‘OMG, YOU LOOK GREAT!’ I don’t want you to say, ‘GOOD FOR YOU!’ I want you to know why I’m wearing a dress I have no business wearing.”

Johnson, 40, took the photo on Saturday while enjoying a girls’ weekend with her best friend.

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“We were on our way to a nice dinner. Someone could say that I look a little pregnant in it, because of, you know, that part sticking out in the front,” wrote the New York-based writer, who is the mom of a 10-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. “I do look a little pregnant. That’s fine. Once upon a time I grew two babies in that part sticking out in the front, but I assure you, now it’s just where I keep my cheeseburgers and sauvignon blanc.”

She explained that she may not be known to wear form-fitting clothes. In fact, she said she’s the heaviest she’s even been other than when she was pregnant, but she wanted that dress, so she bought it. And she’s proud of herself.

“I’ve always struggled with my weight and if you’ve ever struggled with your weight, you know it’s not a physical struggle. It’s about how you see yourself and how you speak to yourself in your mind,” she said. After 40 years of telling myself I have no business wearing things I want to wear, I’ve decided to change the subject. I’ve decided to start being kind to myself.”

Being a work-from-home mom, Johnson noted that she could make her own schedule and spend two hours a day at the gym if she wanted to — but her mind is elsewhere.

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“Right now I’m in the business of keeping my sh-t together. I’m in the business of raising loving children. I’m in the business of maintaining healthy friendships. I’m in the business of having a happy marriage.”

“For 40 years I’ve stood in the mirror and compared how I look to how I THINK I should look. And it’s exhausting. Now, in an ugly world where I have so many other, more important things to worry about, I’m hitting that red decline button when the self-doubt calls start pouring it. I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to be in the business of loving myself. It’s as simple as that.”

Johnson said she’ll still try to get healthy, she’s just taking a break from beating herself up.

“I’m muting the negative things I say to myself, because as it turns out, I care way more about my own comments than anyone else’s.”

“So here’s the thing. If I can put on a dress I have no business wearing to go out with my husband or to go to a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant with my best friend because it makes me feel good, you can too,” she concluded. “And if I’m putting this picture on my Facebook page for 15,000 people to see, well then you can certainly wear a dress you have no business wearing to a BBQ this weekend.”

“If the hard part is talking yourself into it, tell yourself life’s too short to worry about things you have no business wearing.”

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The post resonated with moms across the globe, with many praising Johnson for not only accepting her body, but encouraging them to accept their post-baby bodies, too.

“Thank you for sharing this,” wrote one new mom. “I had my little one three months ago and I’m struggling quite a bit with my new ‘mom bod.’ Thank you for encouraging me to take that dress I have no business wearing out of the back of the closet and having a nice dinner with my hubby!”

“I’m finally proud of the body I spent years hating,” another mom wrote.

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