The Swimsuit Issue {Celebrating the End of Summer}

As we celebrate the unofficial end of summer this weekend, I hope you pack your swimsuit.

This morning I was buzzing around the house packing for a day at the beach. You would think our family was going for a week-long getaway based on the number of bags and coolers perched on my dining room table. But no, these monogrammed canvas totes and watermelon patterned coolers were filled to the brim with all things summer: arm floaties, SPF, frisbees, beer koozies, and castle-shaped pails to name a few.

I ducked out back to grab my daughters’ swimsuits still drying on the brick patio from the day before. My eldest (who is 3) shouted, “Pack my swimsuit, Mom!” Got it, baby girl! A little later as I lined up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and packaged up Goldfish snacks my daughter asked me:

“Mommy, are you going to wear your swimsuit? I want you to wear your swimsuit.”

The last few months of summer I haven’t gone in the water. A self-proclaimed beach girl who took this summer off. I had a baby in early May and haven’t felt like “I’ve gotten my body back.” So, I’ve worn a t-shirt and shorts the whole summer and haven’t gone in beyond my knees.

My 3-year-old’s words struck my heart. “I want you to wear your swimsuit.” “Okay,” I said, “I’ll wear my suit, too.” She squealed with delight, “You have a swimsuit?” She questioned. I had already begun to mentally rifle through my dresser drawers to find a suit that would fit.

I found a maternity tankini I’d worn four years earlier when my husband and I went on a “babymoon” to Hawaii before my first was born. Man, that felt like a lifetime ago. I guess it was three lifetimes ago to be exact. Even for a maternity suit, it fits tight in the wrong places. My chest spilled out the top and my stomach felt soft around the edges. Acting more confident than I felt, I walked downstairs. “That’s your swimsuit, Mommy?” my daughter said, followed by “I like it, I want one like yours, Mommy.”

And I wore my daughter’s words on my sleeves all day. Remembering that this body, which is soft around the edges, made those babies. And that gave me all the confidence in the world.

So, this weekend as we close out summer, I hope you wear your swimsuit. The water feels great.