New Found Freedom
I gave birth to my daughter nine months ago. During my pregnancy I gained a total of 41 lbs. It would be nice to tell you that I have worked out religiously over the past few months and that I was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 6 weeks like the current celebrities that you see on TV. The fact is that I have a stressful job during the day, am a mother of two children, and a loving wife in the evenings. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm so tired that my current form of working out has been carrying my daughter up the three flights of stairs to our apartment each evening. I have been blissfully happy during these past few months until my 9 year old son, Ayden decided that he wanted to go swimming. He had been asking me for a few weeks now but I have been able to fend him off by telling him to wait until our upcoming vacation. Well, here it is, the 2nd week of July and we are officially on vacation. I can't get out of swimming any longer. There's only one problem...I don't have a swimsuit that fits. I had been looking for a swimsuit but having two children with you at all times does not make for a fun bathing suit shopping experience. I went into my closet and there it was, my tiny two piece from two years ago. I started by trying on the bottoms. As I pulled up the bottoms of the swimsuit I swear I could hear the elastic giving way and heaving a hefty sigh as I began my epic battle of trying to fit the swimsuit over my thighs. Success! The bottoms were on but my baby belly pooch was in plain view and wasn't even trying to hide inside the swimsuit. I thought, "do this for your children" and proceeded to try on the top of the swimsuit. Breast feeding has done wonders for my chest and as I placed the swimsuit over my head, it became apparent that the top of the swimsuit was not going to even cover half of my breasts. I pulled and tugged, but there simply wasn't enough fabric. I sighed as I looked in the mirror. Why has my body betrayed me like this? I had to go swimming..there simply wasn't a way out of it. I went back into my closet to find a swimsuit that I had purchased about 8 years ago thinking that maybe I could fit into that suit. As I was rustling through the drawers in my closet I came upon my maternity swimsuit. There it was, over-sized, extra stretchy, and throughly comfortable. I thought I'd try it on for a laugh. Much to my dismay, the swimsuit fit surprisingly well. True, it was a little big in the stomach area (thank God) but overall, it fit. The legs weren't cut up to my waist, nor were my breasts exposed for the world to see. I went to the bathroom mirror and looked at myself. The swimsuit actually could work. It's going to be a tad big but...no, I can't go out in the pool in a maternity swimsuit. What would the local news think? What about the young teenage girls sunning themselves in their tiny two pieces next to the pool? As I stood looking at myself in the mirror I had an "ah ha moment." My son wanted to go swimming with me. He didn't care what I wore or how I looked. He wanted to splash around in the water and spend time with his mother. Why was I so concerned with something as simple as a swimsuit? I am proud of my body. I have given birth to two children and my new found curves were earned. Sure, I could stand to lose another 20 lbs but right now is not the time to dive into a deep depression about that. I'm going to take my children swimming and am going to do it proudly in my maternity swimsuit. I am going to splash around for a few hours and enjoy my new found freedom. Who cares what anyone else thinks down at the pool? I'm not looking to "wow" anyone other than my family. So with that being said, I'm off! I slathered myself down with sunscreen and told my son that I'm ready to swim. He's so excited. He changed into his swimsuit in 20 seconds flat and offered to carry my towel to the pool. This is going to be a great day. I locked the door to the apartment and walked hand in hand with my son. On the way down to the pool reality hit me....I am wearing glasses and don't have my contacts in. Without my glasses I am nearly blind. The challenges and lessons keep on coming today. Oh well, I hope that my son is good at playing Marco Polo. With the wind in my hair, I toss my head back and yell, "Marco!"
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