"Mommy, what are those lines on your legs?" "They're little veins, called spider veins." "What happened? Why do you have them? Do they hurt? Did you get them from being old?"

"Haha! No, you don't have to be old to get them. I got them from each of my pregnancies. You guys put a lot of pressure on my legs when you were in my tummy and these little lines popped up."

"Aww. I'm so sorry, Mommy."

I see these little squiggly lines every day. They're on my ankles, behind my knees, even a few on my feet. They don't hurt, but they're definitely visible.

I've been self-conscious about them for years, but they've grown on me. They've sort of become a reminder to me of what my body has done so far in this life, what it's done to get these colorful lines.

They are the result of carrying five babies for a total of 42 months, and all the hormone surges, weight gain, blood production, and bone and muscle pain and pressure that go along with that miraculous feat.

They're my mama battle scars, my badges, my trophies, my ribbons.

And I would happily earn them all over again to get what I've been given.

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