This Summer, I’m Taking It All Off

My boys are seven and five. When summer rolls around, they beg me to go to the community pool.  Every. Single. Day.

I hesitate to say yes. There’s so much stuff to gather for a trip to the pool. Snacks. Swim toys. Water bottles. Towels. Flip flops. Pool keys. Sunscreen.

Ugh. Sunscreen. I loathe applying this smelly, thick, not-easy-to-blend-in cream on my kids. They hate it too and complain and squirm while I bathe them in it. But sunscreen is a must-be-done annoyance.

Then there’s me in a swimsuit. There’s something so revealing and vulnerable about wearing a swimsuit in public. Why? Because people at the pool look at other people at the pool. And they judge. And if I’ve had a delicious, but bloat-inducing cheeseburger the night before, I don’t want to be critiqued the next morning when my kids are ready to swim.

So, if you’re like me, when your kids ask you to go to the pool, you justify an occasional “no” not because you don’t want to bother with snacks, toys, water, and sunscreen, but because you don’t want to wear your swimsuit in front of other people.

A few months ago something hit me. I have a limited amount of summers left. Summers when my kids will beg me to go to the pool with them. A few summers from now, they’ll want to drive there alone with their friends. Or not go at all. And I’ll want more time.

I decided to look at the pool with a different mindset. When my kids ask to go for a swim, no matter how great or not-so-great I feel about my body that day, I’ll put on a swimsuit and a smile. I’ll shake off my laziness.  I’ll shrug off judging eyes. I’ll still hate the sunscreen, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Because what’s a bloated day at the pool compared to memories made with your kids?

So this summer, I’m taking it all off. Taking off self-consciousness and the opinions of others.